A Beeston mum has told how a specialist charity provided 'life-changing' support for her daughter.
Faye Colegate, 33, has been attending Footprints Conductive Education Centre (CEC) with her daughter Nova, two, for more than a year.
The Nottingham-based charity supports children with mobility or communication difficulties across the East Midlands through weekly sessions.
Much of what happens in the sessions is hard to find elsewhere without having to pay for expensive physiotherapy sessions.
Nova was born with a genetic condition known as Mitochondrial (also known as mito) disease - but is currently undiagnosed.
Mito is a term given to a group of medical disorders caused by mutations in the tiny organelles (mitochondria) that are present in nearly every cell in our bodies and which generate about 90 percent of the energy we need to live.
When these cells don't function properly, the results can be serious and wide-ranging.
For Nova, the disease means she struggles with eating and drinking and low muscle tone creates physical challenges.
Faye said Footprints has helped to 'bridge the gap' between education and physiotherapy, meaning Nova has been able to make progress in simple, but 'life-changing' things.
Faye, a primary school teacher from Beeston, said: "If you have an adult with an injury, it's all about early intervention.
"But then you have children being born with disabilities where early intervention is not happening.
"The NHS is overstretched and there are simply not the resources to do it."
One moment that has stood out for Faye on the importance of what Footprints has provided, was during one of Nova's first sessions.
"Nova had lost the ability to drink by four months old. She didn't have the co-ordination, it was just too hard for her," she said.
"But Footprints showed a special bottle with a straw that means Nova can control the flow of liquid - she drank straightaway. It was lifechanging.
"She is also able to walk now and we are also building her social interaction through speech and language.
"The amount of things they provide is just astonishing."
Since the onset of the pandemic, Footprints was forced to temporarily close its centre resulting in a 40 percent funding loss.
It now needs to raise £17,000 a month to survive and continue supporting its 60 families.
Thankfully through lockdown, Nova has been able to take part in online Zoom sessions - but there is concern over the future of the charity.
Faye added: "If we didn't have Footprints, our next nearest centre would be in Shepshed or you're looking at private physio.
"Nova's needs are fairly easy to manage now but there is a whole spectrum, and some children may need more or need it for longer.
"It is just such a valuable resource and every child deserves to have access to it."
Each weekly session at Footprints costs the charity £85 per child - parents contribute £10 per week to their child’s place and the charity fundraise to cover the remainder.