By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 05:23 EST, 9 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:48 EST, 9 August 2013 . An eight-year-old boy who needs life-changing surgery to allow him to finally play football with his friends, has been given hope by the generosity of MailOnline readers. Joseph Hill suffers from spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects his lower limbs and means he has to rely on a wheelchair. He was told he could have pioneering surgery - called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy - on the NHS. Joseph Hill, eight, who needs life-changing surgery to allow him to finally play football with his friends, has been given hope by the generosity of MailOnline readers . However, he then received a letter saying that the surgery, which was previously only available in the U.S., had been cancelled because of an 'NHS shake-up'. The operation would involve cutting the nerves in his spine to relieve the severe tightness in his legs. As a result, Joseph's family were left with no choice but to try and raise the £20,000 needed for the surgery themselves. Joseph's story appeared on Monday, at which point the family had raised half of the target. Donations flooded in from generous readers and by Wednesday they had reached the target. Joseph’s mother Angela Hill, 36, from Wakefield, said: ‘I couldn't believe it. When the story went on MailOnline my phone started pinging with all of the donations. Joesph (with his mother Angela) has spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects his lower limbs. He was told he could have surgery on the NHS but then got a letter saying the operation had been cancelled . 'It's been an emotional rollercoaster. It's just been mad. The comments have been so touching. 'When we hit the target me and my husband were really, really tearful. I don't know how to thank people for being so kind.' Mrs Hill added: 'Joseph was so excited when we told him. He was absolutely ecstatic. 'He shouted "yes, that's amazing". He couldn't believe it. 'He wants the surgery done as soon as possible.' Mrs Hill and her husband, Allan, are now consulting with Joseph's surgeon at Leeds General Infirmary. As a result, Joseph's family (parents Allan and Angela, and sister, Emma) were left with no choice but to try and raise the £20,000 needed for the surgery themselves . They believe that he will be able to have the surgery in September or early October. After the surgery he will need physiotherapy five times a week for two years. The family believe that this will also cost about £20,000 so they are continuing to fund raise to pay for it. Mrs Hill said: 'The physio is so important to get the most out of the operation.' She added: 'I can't thank people . enough. The words are not enough to thank the people who have taken time . out of their day, when times are so hard, to help our son. 'We are absolutely overwhelmed.' The Primary Care Trust, who had . originally organised Joseph's operation, was abolished and NHS England . who took over shattered the hopes of Joseph, and five other children, by . cancelling their operations. Joseph's story appeared on MailOnline on Monday, at which point the family had raised half of the target. Donations flooded in from generous readers and by Wednesday they had reached the target . Mrs Hill said: ‘One minute they were . booking him in for the operation and Joseph was looking forward to being . just like his friends, and the next a bog standard letter came through . the door saying it had been cancelled. ‘He was really upset, and it was heart-breaking to see. ‘He thought he had everything coming to him and it was taken away from him in a heartbeat.’ Joseph was born prematurely at 34 weeks by emergency caesarean when his mother could no longer feel him moving. Joseph's mother, Angela Hill, said: 'I don't know how to thank people for being so kind' At six-weeks-old, his parents were . told he had suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen and he was . later diagnosed with spastic diplegia. He has a walker to help him get around but he struggles with it, and needs a lot of physiotherapy to keep his muscles as loose as possible. Mrs Hill said: ‘He loves watching football but he can’t run around and play football with his friends. ‘He’s getting to the age where he’s starting to notice he’s different. He doesn’t like sports day because he can’t compete properly to win anything and he feels left out when he doesn’t get picked for things. ‘We just want him to be able to run around with his friends and not feel like he is being held back.’ A spokeswoman for NHS England said they did not discuss individual cases but added: ‘NHS England’s current commissioning policy means that this procedure is not currently being routinely funded for patients in England. ‘Individual funding requests will continue to be considered where there are believed to be exceptional clinical grounds in an individual case.’ She said that NHS funding may be provided later this financial year for a small group of patients to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. To follow Joseph's progress visit www.facebook.com\steppingforwardforjoseph . Joseph and his family can be supported in their fundraising at www.justgiving.com/steppingforwardforjoseph . Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy is a neurosurgical technique used to treat spasticity (increased muscle tone) in the lower limbs. The lower vertebrae are opened to reveal the spinal cord which contains the neurones of the central nervous system. These neurones (bundles of nerve fibres) channel messages between the brain and different areas of the body. Electrical stimulation is used to identify and sub-divide sensory and motor nerves. This process continues until the specific nerves and nerve roots affecting the spastic muscles are identified and cut. Due to the size of the nerves and rootlets, this is a very precise procedure and therefore the surgery can last several hours and requires a general anaesthetic. Many months of physiotherapy are needed after the surgery to retrain the legs. Source: SCOPE .
Joseph Hill has spastic diplegia, a cerebral palsy that affects the legs .
He is totally dependent upon a wheelchair and a walking frame .
He was told he could have a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy procedure, which involves cutting the nerves in his spine that cause tightness in his legs .
But was then told due to an 'NHS shake-up' his surgery had been cancelled .
His family had to raise £20,000 in six months to pay for the operation .
When their story appeared on MailOnline, donations flooded in .
He is now hoping to have the operation in September or early October .
By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 05:23 EST, 9 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:48 EST, 9 August 2013 . An eight-year-old boy who needs life-changing surgery to allow him to finally play football with his friends, has been given hope by the generosity of MailOnline readers. Joseph Hill suffers from spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects his lower limbs and means he has to rely on a wheelchair. He was told he could have pioneering surgery - called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy - on the NHS. Joseph Hill, eight, who needs life-changing surgery to allow him to finally play football with his friends, has been given hope by the generosity of MailOnline readers . However, he then received a letter saying that the surgery, which was previously only available in the U.S., had been cancelled because of an 'NHS shake-up'. The operation would involve cutting the nerves in his spine to relieve the severe tightness in his legs. As a result, Joseph's family were left with no choice but to try and raise the £20,000 needed for the surgery themselves. Joseph's story appeared on Monday, at which point the family had raised half of the target. Donations flooded in from generous readers and by Wednesday they had reached the target. Joseph’s mother Angela Hill, 36, from Wakefield, said: ‘I couldn't believe it. When the story went on MailOnline my phone started pinging with all of the donations. Joesph (with his mother Angela) has spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects his lower limbs. He was told he could have surgery on the NHS but then got a letter saying the operation had been cancelled . 'It's been an emotional rollercoaster. It's just been mad. The comments have been so touching. 'When we hit the target me and my husband were really, really tearful. I don't know how to thank people for being so kind.' Mrs Hill added: 'Joseph was so excited when we told him. He was absolutely ecstatic. 'He shouted "yes, that's amazing". He couldn't believe it. 'He wants the surgery done as soon as possible.' Mrs Hill and her husband, Allan, are now consulting with Joseph's surgeon at Leeds General Infirmary. As a result, Joseph's family (parents Allan and Angela, and sister, Emma) were left with no choice but to try and raise the £20,000 needed for the surgery themselves . They believe that he will be able to have the surgery in September or early October. After the surgery he will need physiotherapy five times a week for two years. The family believe that this will also cost about £20,000 so they are continuing to fund raise to pay for it. Mrs Hill said: 'The physio is so important to get the most out of the operation.' She added: 'I can't thank people . enough. The words are not enough to thank the people who have taken time . out of their day, when times are so hard, to help our son. 'We are absolutely overwhelmed.' The Primary Care Trust, who had . originally organised Joseph's operation, was abolished and NHS England . who took over shattered the hopes of Joseph, and five other children, by . cancelling their operations. Joseph's story appeared on MailOnline on Monday, at which point the family had raised half of the target. Donations flooded in from generous readers and by Wednesday they had reached the target . Mrs Hill said: ‘One minute they were . booking him in for the operation and Joseph was looking forward to being . just like his friends, and the next a bog standard letter came through . the door saying it had been cancelled. ‘He was really upset, and it was heart-breaking to see. ‘He thought he had everything coming to him and it was taken away from him in a heartbeat.’ Joseph was born prematurely at 34 weeks by emergency caesarean when his mother could no longer feel him moving. Joseph's mother, Angela Hill, said: 'I don't know how to thank people for being so kind' At six-weeks-old, his parents were . told he had suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen and he was . later diagnosed with spastic diplegia. He has a walker to help him get around but he struggles with it, and needs a lot of physiotherapy to keep his muscles as loose as possible. Mrs Hill said: ‘He loves watching football but he can’t run around and play football with his friends. ‘He’s getting to the age where he’s starting to notice he’s different. He doesn’t like sports day because he can’t compete properly to win anything and he feels left out when he doesn’t get picked for things. ‘We just want him to be able to run around with his friends and not feel like he is being held back.’ A spokeswoman for NHS England said they did not discuss individual cases but added: ‘NHS England’s current commissioning policy means that this procedure is not currently being routinely funded for patients in England. ‘Individual funding requests will continue to be considered where there are believed to be exceptional clinical grounds in an individual case.’ She said that NHS funding may be provided later this financial year for a small group of patients to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. To follow Joseph's progress visit www.facebook.com\steppingforwardforjoseph . Joseph and his family can be supported in their fundraising at www.justgiving.com/steppingforwardforjoseph . Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy is a neurosurgical technique used to treat spasticity (increased muscle tone) in the lower limbs. The lower vertebrae are opened to reveal the spinal cord which contains the neurones of the central nervous system. These neurones (bundles of nerve fibres) channel messages between the brain and different areas of the body. Electrical stimulation is used to identify and sub-divide sensory and motor nerves. This process continues until the specific nerves and nerve roots affecting the spastic muscles are identified and cut. Due to the size of the nerves and rootlets, this is a very precise procedure and therefore the surgery can last several hours and requires a general anaesthetic. Many months of physiotherapy are needed after the surgery to retrain the legs. Source: SCOPE .
has to rely on a wheelchair. He was told he could because of an 'NHS shake-up'. The operation would involve cutting the nerves in his spine to relieve the severe tightness in his legs. As a mother Angela) has spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which affects his lower limbs. He believe that he will be able to have the surgery in September or early October. After the surgery raise to pay for it. Mrs Hill said: 'The physio Joseph's story appeared on MailOnline on Monday, booking him in for the operation and Joseph was the door saying it had been cancelled. ‘He was Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy is a neurosurgical