Pedal power will help girl who feels no pain

Jamie MacDonald • Published 8 Sep 2010 09:30 0 Comments

A TULLIBODY mother and daughter are hoping a mammoth charity cycle will help raise money for much needed soft play and sensory facilities.

Little Alyssa McLean suffers from an extremely rare condition, known as Congenital Pain Insensitivity, which means she feels no physical pain.

Only 30 people are believed to be affected by the condition worldwide and the tot has suffered a catalogue of unintentional injuries from simply not realising she is hurting herself.

Alyssa’s mum, Moira, has been attempting to raise £7500 for a soft play area so the wee one can enjoy the same fun activities as any other typical three-year-old without the need to be constantly worried about the harm she could do to herself.

Hopes are high that a charity cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats will turn out to be the final push to raise the amount needed for the soft play facility.

Moira told the Advertiser, “Alyssa falls all the time and she constantly takes a battering on her little knees and elbows but doesn’t feel it.

“She doesn’t really have a learning curve and you wouldn’t realise how much a normal toddler’s learning is based on pain and learning not to do something again because it hurts. She feels the impact but nothing more.”

Injuries Alyssa has sustained include chewing the front of her tongue off, chewing her finger down to the bone and scratching large areas of her skin off.

Alyssa is, however, hyper-sensitive to heat and feels pain internally.

Moira added, “At times she is incapacitated by sudden excruciating pain, which causes her to drop to the ground with no warning. This, in combination with the pain insensitivity, is even more dangerous than it would be if she felt other pain normally, because she is unable to tell us if she has injured herself in the fall.

“Alyssa is only able to react to the pain she does feel and grow older and more aware of herself and her surroundings. This is something which will only happen with age and awareness, and we need to keep her safe until she should gain a better understanding.

“The soft play area will make a big difference. At the moment I have to watch her all the time to tell her if she is going to hurt herself, I can’t even turn away to do something like put the washing on.”

Falkirk osteopath David McCabe and his friend Richard Frost, from Surrey, set off at the weekend on a cycle from Lands End to John O’ Groats in the hope of raising enough money to make the dream of the padded play area a reality.

David said, “As an osteopath I deal with people in pain every day. But the ability to feel pain is a gift and it has been denied to this gorgeous wee girl.

“I heard of her plight and we decided to try and help raise the rest of the money needed. Moira has been fundraising for two years and Alyssa really needs to get the equipment as soon as possible.”

David and Richard have allowed themselves 17 days to complete the sponsored 850 mile trip.

After hearing about Alyssa the pair decided to raise money for her before they had even met the little girl or her mum. David says prior to the two months he has spent training, he hadn’t cycled any further than the nearest shops.

He added, “It is an adventure for us and a great opportunity to do something locally where people can see where their money is going.”

To donate to Alyssa’s fundraising or to find out more about her condition visit http://understandingalyssa.blogspot.com/ and to keep up to date with how David and Richard are progressing you can read the blog of their trip at http://lejogforalyssa.blogspot.com/

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