A STRUGGLING single mother is desperately trying to raise £30,000 to help her son walk again after he was denied a life-changing operation on the NHS.

Kai Tunstall, of Edgware, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was two-months-old was told he could have pioneering surgery for free.

But a week before Christmas, his mother Bianca Tunstall was devastated to learn this would no longer be possible due to funding cuts.

The 25-year-old now faces raising the money by herself to give her happy, bubbly little boy a chance of life. He has been on a waiting list for the procedure, which will help relieve the severe tightness in his legs, since 2014 and a date has been pencilled in for June.

She said: “When I opened the letter, I just broke down. It was just a week before Christmas, so it was terrible timing.

“The operation costs so much and I don’t have that much money, so we need to raise as much as we can and awareness as we can.

“Why would they not want to spend money to help children to walk?”

He is penciled into have the operation in June and Ms Tunstall is determined to raise the £30,000 she needs to pay for it.

Ms Tunstall has launched the ‘Kai Will Walk’ campaign and has designed t-shirts and wristbands in an effort to raise money.

It has already raised more than £800, however, with the short amount of time left, she is concerned the target will not be reached in time.

Her family and friends have been supportive and have organized a football match – but are keen to reach out to more people for help.

Kai has regular physiotherapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital but the surgery is his only real chance of being able to walk.

Bianca added: “It is emotionally hard, and I have had to have the get up and go to carry on for Kai.

“He loves football and tries to keep up with other boys on the school yard.

Kai has spastic dipelgia, which affects his lower limbs and means he has to rely on a wheelchair or a zimmerframe.

He was born nine weeks prematurely and when she noticed he could not stand by himself, she was left unsure about what to do.

She added: “When he was diagnosed at two years old, the doctors told me he was lucky, as cerebral palsy can affect speech as well.

“Kai is such a good boy. He does not complain or throw tantrums, but he can be quiet on times. He asks me ‘When am I legs going to be fixed?

“I feel like it is my fault, I feel like it is my responsibility. I’m trying and it’s really hard. I’m just trying to raise as much awareness as possible.”

An NHS England spokesperson said: “Current evidence is limited, but together with NICE we are exploring SDR further through our innovative evaluation programme which offers treatment to a limited number of patients who meet the clinical criteria.

“Not only does this enable these children to have potentially life-changing surgery, but it also provides a real opportunity to gather the vital evidence we need on the effectiveness of the procedure, for the benefit of our patients.” To donate to Kai’s campaign, visit gofundme.com/kaiwillwalk.