Brave Worksop boy George handed a 'lifeline' by posture support specialists

George Bownes was born early at 23 weeks and as a result of several associated complications, he subsequently developed cerebral palsy.

The youngster cannot stand or sit unaided – however mum Hanna has said that he now ‘sees the world from a different angle’ after the family were able to rent a Jenx Monkey Stander from postural support specialist, Jiraffe as part of its emergency posture provision initiative during the coronavirus crisis.

Hanna said: “Renting the stander for George has been like a lifeline for us.

“Due to the coronavirus, everything was on hold meaning George was not going to get any support in progressing for months

“I was so upset that he was going to miss out on so many crucial opportunities which he deserved.

“When I found out that we could rent a stander from Jiraffe, it was like all of my Christmases had come at once.

“George loves it and he stands tall and proud – it lets him see the world from a different angle instead of being laid on the floor all of the time.”

The Monkey Stander is a prone standing system designed for young children which securely adjusts to a variety of angles to gradually build a child’s tolerance to standing.

Hanna now hopes that more children can benefit from Jiraffe’s new scheme.She said: “I think Jiraffe should continue with the scheme – it’s amazing.

“I think it’s great to work as directly with families as possible, as some families can find it really hard to get support in moving forward with their children’s individual needs.”

Richard Harvey, national clinical training manager at Jiraffe, said: “We’re delighted for George and his family.

“Our emergency posture provision scheme is offering immediate assistance to those in desperate need of postural care.

“We want to support as many people and services as we possibly can during this crisis.”

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