LITTLE Skye Swinton has been given the go-ahead for an operation which could help her to walk.
The three-year-old has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, which has hindered her ability to run, jump and balance.
She was refused the operation on the NHS, but lottery winners stepped forward to help fund the operation.
But still she had to wait for doctors to approve her for the operation.
Mum Ruth, from Arle, said it had been a nerve-racking three months since Skye's assessment in January.
But the family have just been told their little girl has been given the go-ahead for the pioneering surgery. During the operation, surgeons will partially cut the nerve roots where they join the spinal cord and permanently reduce the tightness in her legs.
The 39-year-old said: "There is a eight to nine-month waiting list for the operation from the date of her assessment, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for October. I am pleased it is going ahead, but I am also scared. It has really been an up and down time for us all.
"It is going to be a big operation and so as a mum there are a lot of mixed feelings about it. But Skye just seems to take everything in her stride."
The Echo launched a campaign to help tiny Skye and her family raise the cash for her £40,000 operation.
Nearly £12,000 was raised for the life-changing operation before lucky Chris and Colin Weir, who won the EuroMillions, stumped up the rest of the money for it.
Skye was born 13 weeks prematurely weighing just 1lb 15oz, which has left her unsteady on her feet and in need of a wheelchair if she wants to go any distance.
Ruth, a former teacher and now her full-time career, said without the operation she would need major orthopaedic surgery by the age of 10 or 11.
Skye's operation will take place at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
Ruth added: "We are now just concentrating on her physiotherapy and just trying to get her as strong as possible before the operation.
"It is really difficult to know how long it will take her to recover, but we hope she will be walking after a few weeks.
"She will have to have intensive physiotherapy for a few years and it will be worse for her before it gets better."
In the meantime Skye will be going in for minor surgery, where Botox helps reduce the tension in her legs, making it easier for her to move.
