NATURALLY, there was no charge.

It wasn’t even considered.

When Moree Men’s Shed secretary Ron Baker got the call about making a special chair for a special little girl, the boys leapt into action.

Little Paisley Neeves was born in August last year at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, and quick-thinking staff detected hip dysplasia.

Paisley was braced before she was one day old.

Parents Zack and Grace are forever thankful for the hospital’s early detection and their eyes well up every time they think about the incredible work done by Moree Men’s Shed to help baby Paisley.

The boys were quickly on the tools, and created a special seat for Paisley to use when she was confined to a full plaster cast from the waist down.

“We reached out to the Men’s Shed and they were a huge help,” Grace said.

“Without them, Paisley wouldn’t have been able to sit upright in a cast for 12 weeks, unless we held her on our lap.

“Ron and the men at the shed went above and beyond to help us, and we are forever grateful.

“Paisley is absolutely stoked to be able to have some independence, especially now she’s started solids,” Grace said.

Paisley’s older sister, Harper, also suffered the condition, known as developmental dysplasia of the hip, which occurs when the hip joint doesn’t develop properly.

This causes the ball to not fit snugly into the socket and can lead to the hip being unstable or even dislocating. The condition is commonly known as “clicky hips” and treatable if detected early.

“Paisley’s condition was very noticeable, as we knew the signs to look for from Harper, whose condition was mild compared to Paisley,” Grace said.

Harper is nearly seven and enjoying Year 1 at Moree East Public School.

She wore a special Pavlik harness to help keep her hip joints stable and promote healing, and is now fully recovered.

“Harper had check-ups every week in Tamworth for around 18 weeks, then gradually only needed to see the specialist once every six to 12 months. You would never know Harper had it now,” Grace said.

Paisley also wore a Pavlik harness for two-and-a-half weeks before suddenly losing all movement in her left leg.

“Basically her leg had gone to sleep for an extended period of time due to a nerve being pinched as the hip wasn’t in the socket,” Grace said.

The family found themselves back at John Hunter Hospital where Paisley was reassessed and placed in a Denis Browne Brace for six weeks. This type of brace helps keep a child’s hips in a stable position while they grow.

During this time, there were weekly trips to Tamworth for check-ups and bath times.

“After six weeks in the Denis Browne brace we went back to Newcastle where Paisley had an MRI and X-ray, only to find out the six weeks in the new brace was also unsuccessful and her hip was still dislocated,” Grace said.

“The next best step for our tricky little girl was surgery, and over Christmas and New Year we waited for the phone call.”

Meanwhile, Paisley was learning to roll and almost crawl.

Finally, the phone call came.

Paisley and her parents took their first flight, thanks to Little Wings, and flew from Moree to Cessnock, where they travelled by road to John Hunter Hospital.

“Little Wings is yet another service we are so grateful for. Without them, this would’ve been such a difficult trip by car, especially for the way home with Paisley in a cast. She couldn’t sit in the same position for too long in case she developed pressure sores,” Grace said.

Ron Baker, who’s more at home arc-welding steel plate and RSJ, rather than working with timber, says when he studied the plans – several pages long – for Paisley’s special chair, he wondered whether the boys could actually put it all together.

“I looked at the plans, and thought, no way can we possibly do that,” he chuckled.

“Anyway, after a bit more study, we started cutting out the pieces. Once we got it all cut out, and started looking at it like a jigsaw puzzle, we were able to put it together.

“It turned out all right. Actually, I was surprised how it turned out – me being a steelworker, not a woodworker,” he smiled.

About 20 man-hours went into the project – not that anyone was counting.

“To see the smile on little Paisley’s face when she sat in it, and to see the smile on her mother’s face, was the best part of all,” Ron said.

“Making the chair was a challenge, but a worthwhile challenge – especially when Grace said it was the first time she’d been free to do things herself while Paisley sat up in her new chair.

“When Paisley gets to the stage where she can sit down properly, we’ll put a straight seat in for her, rather than the one she’s got now.

“We can take the current seat out and replace it with a new one to adapt to Paisley’s needs,” Ron said.