A BRAVE schoolgirl will fly out to America tomorrow for a life-changing operation to allow her to walk.

Five-year-old Poppy Marina Taylor-Jones has cerebral palsy and can only walk supported by a walking frame or when wearing shints.

Even then, she stands on her tip toes and has pain in her legs.

But that could all change when Poppy, a pupil at Woodbank Primary School, undergoes groundbreaking cerebral palsy treatment at a hospital in Missouri, USA, on Tuesday.

Fears that Poppy may have had to miss the planned operation — because the fundraising target had not been met — were allayed when the hospital offered to accept payment by instalments.

Her mother Ria Jones, aged 28, said: “We are so excited about going now. The operation has a 100 per cent success rate, so Poppy should be able to walk in two years after lots of physiotherapy.

“Just seeing Poppy take her first steps will be amazing. She is so strong-minded and will be determined to walk as soon as she can.”

Poppy said goodbye to her family and friends during a leaving party held at Fishpool Liberal Club on Friday.

She will fly out with her mother, three-year-old brother Leo and grandmother Marina.

They will attend an appointment at St Louis Children’s Hospital on Monday, when doctors will see Poppy in person for the first time.

The operation, which is not available on the NHS, will be carried out the following day. The treatment involves cutting some of Poppy’s sensory nerve fibres that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord.

Poppy will then be in intensive care for three days, before spending two days on a normal ward. Doctors hope she will be out of bed by then and undergoing her first physiotherapy session.

Approximately two weeks later, Poppy will have another operation to lengthen the tendons in her legs, which have been shortened because she walks on tip toes.

There should be an immediate improvement after the surgeries, as Poppy’s feet will be flat and she will be able to wiggle her toes.

Poppy and her family will return to their home in Richmond Street, Bury, on July 13 and she will work with a physiotherapist five times each week.

In 18 to 24 months, doctors believe Poppy will be able to take her first steps.

Miss Jones said: “Poppy wants to kick a football with her brother or ride a bike, but she can’t do these things now. This trip will completely change her life. It will allow her to walk unaided, have better balance, be stronger and, most importantly, she will be pain-free.”

Miss Jones has been working hard to raise the thousands of pounds needed to pay for the treatment and the trip to America.

After a series of fundraising events, she has reached £25,000 in total — falling far short of her initial target of £60,000.

The money has paid for the lengthening operation, flights and accommodation during the trip, and a £3,500 deposit for the first operation.

Miss Jones feared Poppy’s treatment would have to be cancelled if they could not raise all the money and her mother even planned to re-mortgage her home.

But the hospital has now offered Miss Jones a payment plan, so that she can continue fundraising and pay the £17,500 still owed on a monthly basis.

Miss Jones added: “The hospital has never offered a payment plan to anyone before. I’m ecstatic that they’ve done this. I couldn’t believe their generosity.

“We will keep holding fundraising events and collecting donations because we still need a lot of money. As well as the cost of the surgery, we will need £15,000 to pay for the physiotherapy that Poppy needs over the next two years.

“I hope people will keep supporting Poppy. The trip to America is definitely not the end of the road.”

Anyone interested in helping Poppy can contact charity Caudwell Children on 01782 600114 or visit justgiving.com/footsteps4poppy.

* A YOUNG girl has helped raise £580 for Poppy’s fundraising appeal after being inspired by an article in the Bury Times.

Olivia Wilcox (10), of Mendip Crescent, Walshaw, was moved by the plight of the five-year-old.

So she got some friends to help her put together a cake sale, garage sale, book sale and car wash as well as a school dress down day.