A LARGS family is facing a race against time to raise £80,000 to send their daughter to America for life-changing surgery to help her walk.

Young Alara Kavak, three, was born premature and developed cerebral palsy, meaning she cannot walk without support or the use of specialist equipment.

Parents Fiona and Ozkan have been thrown a lifeline that could allow the youngster to walk on her own for the first time – and have launched a fundraising campaign to make it happen.

The couple, who also also mum and dad to Kieran, Callum and Ilayda, are pleading with to the community to help them make their daughter's dream of dancing and playing in the sea unaided come true.

Fiona said: “The top surgeon in the world for the type of specialist surgery that Alara requires believes she could potentially walk in the future. She would need ongoing physio and the procedure to go perfectly, but there is hope for her.

“We have to do this for her - we will do everything to give our daughter this chance.

“It would be life-changing for Alara to have the independence and the freedom that we all take for granted every day.

“She wants the simple things like walking along the promenade, jumping in the waves or playing at the park. It breaks my heart when I see what she is missing out on.”

Fiona, who has lived all her life in Largs, says every day is a challenge but insists she will fighting to give her daughter the best shot at a full and happy life.

She explained: “It’s been a tough few years and it’s certainly not been the life I dreamt of Alara having at such an young age.

“She is just like every other three-year-old, but is trapped in a body where her legs won’t do what she wants.

“Despite her condition, she is as bright as a button and has a massive personality. Everyone is always saying how funny she is.

“She desperately wants to be able to move like her brothers and sister - and I’m praying that this surgery can make that happen.”

The family have just launched their fundraiser to pay for Alara’s Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery in America.

This is a surgical procedure that aims to reduce movement issues in the lower limbs caused by an abnormal communication between the brain and the nerves. SDR is effective in treating this by cutting the nerve rootlets in the spinal canal that are sending the wrong signals to the muscles.

The most common cause in childhood is cerebral palsy. The surgery is not a cure for the condition, but without it, Alara's mobility is likely to continue to deteriorate.

Fiona said: “She is in constant pain. Bluntly, without this surgery Alara will never be able to walk on her own, which is heartbreaking for me as her mum.

"We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity that people have showed us, even complete strangers have donated to the appeal.

“The doctors in America say the sooner we can get over the better, as her chances of walking on her own decrease with every passing day.

“The surgery is pencilled in for February and we are desperately hoping we can raise £80,000 by then to make it happen."

Since launching on Sunday, the appeal has already raised over £10,000.

Fiona added: “We want to thank every single person who has donated, no matter how large or small, it honestly means the world to us.

“Largs is such an amazing town and we need the community to get behind us now, because it’s too big a mountain for us to climb alone.

“If everyone donated just £10, we could raise the money today and give our beautiful little girl the chance to walk again."

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/alaraslittlelegs