A YOUNG girl’s devoted parents have launched a £30,000 appeal to fund their daughter’s life-changing physiotherapy sessions in America and at home in the UK.

Mila Cole, aged three, of Notley Road, Braintree, suffers from bilateral dystonic cerebral palsy, which severely affects her day-to-day mobility, the level of control she has over her hands and arms, and her ability to sit up unaided and safely swallow liquids and food.

She was diagnosed with the debilitating disorder when she was just 17 months old, and having endured years of MRI scans and painful operations, mum Kerry Rouse, 25, and dad Cassiem Cole, 27, are now desperately trying to raise £30,000 to pay for unique technology, three-weeks of private, tailored therapy in Boston and what will be a lifetime of rehabilitation sessions.

Kerry said: ‘‘With Mila’s cerebral palsy, the mainstay of treatment is regular physiotherapy and speech and language therapy, which in the current climate the NHS cannot provide at the frequency Mila requires and so private therapy is her main chance to achieve her goals.

‘‘This will be ongoing for the rest of her life and unfortunately it comes at a great cost.

“But as her parents all we want to be able to say is that we have given her every opportunity to reach her full potential and have a good quality of life.’’

The sessions, which will see brave Mila travel across the Atlantic later this summer, will consist of 15, four-hour days of physiotherapy and speech therapy which will be carried out using more advanced and intensive techniques.

Compared to the weekly sessions Mila now has at Kids Physio Works in Witham, which focus solely on her core strength and stamina, the treatment she will receive in America will help to begin improving her motor functions and greatly increase her chances of one day being able to walk and sit independently.

Kerry said: ‘‘All of these things are taken for granted by so many of us in life – we did as well until we were blessed with Mila, who is an inspiration to not only us as her parents but everybody she meets.

‘‘She brings so much joy to us and all those that love her and without the many people who are prepared to help Mila, she would not have progressed to the point she is at now, nor be given these amazing opportunities.’’

To donate to Kerry and Cassiem’s appeal to help fund Mila Cole’s therapy and equipment, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/milasjourney.