Bradford & District | Archive | 2000 | February | 26
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Saturday 26th Feb 2000.
The parents of nine-year-old Dev Mehta - who was born with a deformed hand - have been boosted in their bid to raise £80,000 for a life-changing operation.
Motor finance company First National is holding a competition with a hot air balloon ride for two as the first prize to boost the Dev's Hand Appeal.
The appeal was launched by parents Lynne and Naresh Mehta in September last year.
The couple, of Sycamore Crescent, Pudsey, were told that surgeons in the United States can give Lowtown Primary School pupil Dev a 'new' hand using a ground-breaking technique.
But the treatment could cost up to £80,000, and the couple need to raise at least £30,000 to pay for the first two operations.
They have already raised more than £10,000 but the race is on to collect the cash as the first stages of the operation must be done before Dev's bones stop growing.
That is when David Wilson, charity organiser at First National in Leeds, stepped in.
He said: "Mr Mehta runs a garage and is a client of ours. He mentioned his son's plight and about the appeal and we thought this was a very worthy cause.
"The company has its own hot air balloon and we hope people will enter the prize draw and make a donation in the process to help pay for this life-changing operation."
Mum Lynne, 35, said she was overwhelmed by the support her family had received from the company and from people in general.
She said: "I think it's brilliant. We need all the help we can in raising funds."
She added: "The first two operations Dev needs would be to lengthen his palm and his middle three fingers by breaking the bones and inserting pins horizontally.
"This has to be done before his bones stop growing which we've been told could happen any time between the ages of 13 and 15.
"He's a very bright boy but he has to write at school with his wrong hand which slows him down a lot. He does feel like he's not like his other friends sometimes so the operation is really important for his confidence."
Send your entry with your name, address and telephone number and donation made payable to the Dev's Hand Appeal to the Dev Mehta Balloon Ride Competition, First National, Leeds Motor Branch, Northside Business Park, Sheepscar Court, Leeds, LS7 2BB.
Deadline is end of May and only postal entries will be accepted.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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