Colin and Chris Weir send girl, 4, for US operation

  • Published
Chris and Colin Weir
Image caption,

The Weirs said they hoped the operation would give Isabel the chance of an active life

A Scottish couple who scooped the UK's biggest lottery win have offered to pay for a life-changing operation for a four-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.

Colin and Chris Weir from Largs, in Ayrshire, are providing the funds to send Isabel Wallis, from Musselburgh, to America to have the surgery.

Isabel's parents had been raising funds to help pay for the operation.

They hope it will enable their daughter to live without having to use a wheelchair.

Her mother, Kate Horne, said: "I have been at breaking point trying to look after Isabel, but the generosity of everyone around us has always kept me going.

"Receiving the donation from the Weirs was overwhelming, words cannot describe it.

"It means that Isabel gets the operation she needs almost immediately, and the care she needs afterwards. It also means I can go back to being more of a mum."

Ms Horne and Isabel's father, Rory Wallis, have raised almost £15,000 over the past six months with help from friends, family and supporters.

Now that the operation is being paid for by the Weirs, the existing funds will be set aside to cover the cost of the intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy needed after the surgery.

Mr Wallis, whose colleagues at Wetherspoons in Musselburgh, East Lothian, raised more than £1,000 for the fund, said: "People have been so incredibly supportive and it means so much to us.

"Now that Chris and Colin have stepped in to top-up the fund, we couldn't be happier."

The Weirs picked up more than £161m on the lottery in July last year - the largest jackpot ever won in Europe.

The amount of money donated by the Weirs for the operation has not been revealed.

Chris Weir said: "Kate and Rory have worked so hard to raise the money needed for Isabel's operation, so it was a pleasure to help.

"We hope that the operation will give Isabel the chance of an active life. We wish her well."