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Keighley parents prepare to walk through fire for daughter

nicole's wish to walk

Nicole Vendettuoli

By Russell Truran

The parents of a toddler with ceberal palsy are set to walk through fire to raise money for their daughter this weekend.

Tom Vendettuoli, 27, and his wife Candice, 24 are attempting to raise £70,000 for their daughter Nicole- who was disagnosed with cerebral palsy at just eight months of age after having a bleed on the brain just after birth.

 

Nicole baby

Nicole as a newborn baby

So far the pair have raised £7,000 and they need the money to send Nicole to America for life changing treatment.

Candice said: “This is the first proper event we’ve organised in our fundraising campaign which is Nicole’s Wish To Walk. Nicole has cerebral palsy- she has really stiff legs which stops her from sitting, walking and crawling like out children. And we’re hoping to send her to America for an operation, next year, to allow her to walk by herself. Raising this money is really important to us- to give Nicole some independence and to be pain free.”

The fire walking event is set to take place at The Three Horses pub in Keighley- 20 people have already signed up and anyone else wanting to take part needs to be there by 6.15pm for a health and safety briefing.

This is just the first in a series of events that Tom and Candice have organised, including an upcoming illusionist fun day, to raise money and Nicole’s Wish To Walk campaign has also attracted some well-known support.

Nicole

Nicole making rice krispie cakes

Candice said: “Gareth gates actually kicked off our campaign which was amazing- he came to our house and saw Nicole.”

He also recorded a video message for Nicole’s Wish To Walk’s fundraising video which can be seen on YouTube.

To donate to the appeal you can head to the campaign’s Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/NicolesWishtoWalk/timeline

Tom said that the support of everyone has incredible and they are confident they will be able to raise the money in time.

He said: “It’s been tough- it’s put lots of strain but we’re quite strong people and we’ve got quite a close knit family. As a team we all pull together and we can get through it. It does put a strain on your relationship and family but it makes you stronger in the long run.”

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