John Maclean Foundation - Help us chase our dreams:

Meet Nathan

As the official charity of Ironman Western Australia, the John Maclean Foundation made a presentation of $5,000 towards local lad Nathan Simpson to assist with the installation of a remedial therapy pool in his backyard. Nathanis 8 years old and lives in Capel in Southern Western Australia. He has a severe development delay and is is truly one of a kind, there is no-one else in the world like him

Unlike other children, Nathan cannot, run, skip, hop, jump, climb or walk. Instead, he crawls of walks with aids and assistance.Swimming is the only way Nathan can experience freedom of movement which eliminates his physical challenges. He expresses pure exhilaration and joy in the water and is even able to walk independently.Nathan is on the verge of walking independently but needs further strength and balance training to achieve this goal.

It is hoped that daily water therapy, which cannot be accessed at present due to distance from a heated pool, will give Nathan the confidence and therapy that he needs. As well as benefitting Nathan, other families with children with special needs will be invited to use the pool for their therapy needs. JMF's donation of $5,000 will go towards enclosing the pool and providing change facilities of other families and children wishing to use the facilities.

Nathan and his  family including Mother Lisa, Nanna Toni and his two brothers attended the presentation at the 2009 Ironman Western Australia carbo event in Busselton in early December. The project has a great affinity with Ironman in the fact that Nathan's Local Area Coordinator, Gerald Sullivan, is a local Ironman and Mark Sullivan and Lorraine Kelly, two local Ironman who are racing this year have also supported Nathan through a black tie fundraiser in Busselton earlier this year.

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