Oscar Cridge ‘Christmas Eve fairytale’ smashes fundraiser

A "Christmas Eve fairytale" has seen a fundraising target to pay for the aftercare to help a four-year-old boy walk again unaided smashed.

Oscar Cridge, from Longwell Green near Bristol, has cerebral palsy and needs life-changing surgery to help him walk.

The initial goal of £25,000 was doubled to £50,000 after his family received more donations than they expected.

Then, on Christmas Eve, a donor offered to make up the £4,000 needed to reach their target.

The funds will go towards aftercare needed to help Oscar after his operation.

His father Shaun Cridge had been raising money so Oscar could get selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery.

But during the fundraising effort, Oscar's mum Emma was diagnosed with breast cancer which made everything "even harder".

A Bristol musician called Daz, also known as Darren Sims, offered to help with fundraising efforts by creating a Christmas song and donating all the proceeds raised from downloads.

Daz said: "It was like a fairytale. It was Christmas Eve about teatime, someone very kindly e-mailed and asked what the shortfall was on the target, so it was about £4,000 at that point, and he said 'well I'd like to make up that shortfall'.

"I rang up Oscar's parents immediately and we were all crying. It was an emotional moment. Everything came together at the right time.

"We're getting on for about £52,000 now and the money from the single will also go on top of that, so we're doing one last push on the single now until New Year's Eve."

Mr Cridge said the fund will help Oscar “find his feet again”.

“After you have the surgery you have to learn to walk again, so it's basically like starting from scratch you have to learn how to move your legs and your feet," he said.

“He will be able to get the best start with this aftercare.”

Daz said he thought it would be a big ask to raise the £25,000 so to get to £50,000 was “phenomenal”.

“That’s going to make Oscar's dream of playing football with his mates without a frame come true," he said.

“The family is completely overwhelmed and we can't thank everybody enough.”

As well as the funds raised, the Bristol City and Bristol Rovers football teams also donated football kits.

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