HOW YOUR MONEY IS SPENT

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their wonderful donations, which have helped us to achieve so much in our first year.

If you feel you are able to make a donation to our worthwhile cause, please either contact the office (address above) or click here to print our donation form.

Click on the burgundy text for additional information

SAM

Sam aged five suffers with severe scoliosis. He has already endured many operations in his short life. Since his last operation his spine has re-curved by 75%, which is very serious. He has had two metal rods inserted into his back which you can see are protruding through his skin, as his spine is forcing them out.

He is due another operation in summer 2006, and has a very traumatic time recovering from the procedure, and has to spend many days in intensive care and also suffers with constant chest infections due to the severity of his condition.

The scoliosis causes Sam a lot of pain, and for this reason we decided to send him to Orlando to swim with the dolphins, and also stay on the Disney world resort in March 2006. We feel it will give Sam something to look forward to whilst preparing for his next major operation. Thanks to your wonderful help, his dream will now come true.

ELLIE

We are pleased to announce that we have completed the building of the sensory room for baby Ellie, aged 18 months, suffers with Congenital Hip Dysplasia and Global Developmental Delay.

She has already, in her short life, endured a serious operation involving the insertion of metal pins into her hips. She has just had a plaster cast removed from her hips, which has restricted her playing and developing movement, such as crawling and walking. Ellie also has difficulties with her mental development, which has affected her speech and language skills. Although Ellie is currently enduring so much she never complains and always has a smile on her face.

We decided to raise funds to build a conservatory to turn into a sensory room, as we know how beneficial this type of equipment can be, and how imperative it is to provide mental stimuli to children with Global Delay. We are also still trying to raise the funds to landscape the entire garden to include the laying of specialist play flooring and soft play equipment to ensure Ellie's safety at all times.

We estimate the cost of this project to be in the region of £3,000, and with your help we can enhance the quality of Ellie's life.

JAMES AND CAMERON

James and Cameron both suffer with Brittle Bone Disease and after a request from the Brittle Bone Society, we are pleased to be able to donate towards the purchase of a specialist computer and a portable sleep system.

LEANNE

Leanne suffers with Scoliosis, Epilepsy, Learning Dificulties and severe delay development. We are pleased to have been able to purchase for her a new bed to allow her to sleep with the correct posture, and most importantly to allow her mother to sleep with her at night.

CHARLOTTE

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated to our appeal to send Charlotte and her family to Disneyworld, America. The family had a fantastic time and she met all her favourite characters and even went backstage to meet the entire cast of Tarzan. She was escorted around the parks by the Cat in the Hat characters and her parents said they made Charlotte feel really special.

SARA

Sara, aged eight, suffers with Scoliosis, Spastic Quadriplegia, Epilepsy, Visual Impairment and Severe Developmental Delay. After an approach from Social Services we decided to raise funds to build a sensory area with specialist equipment. We have purchased this type of equipment for many children and know how beneficial it is to provide mental stimuli to children with Developmental Delay. We have also raised the funds to convert Sarah's garden into a safe play area and to accommodate her wheelchair. This work is now complete and we would like to take the time to thank the National Federation of Demolition Contractors for making this project happen. Below is a handprint from Sara, which is her way of saying thank you.

JADE

We are pleased to announce that we have secured the funds to build Jade’s gymnasium thanks to your wonderful donation totalling £6000. Jade suffers with Poly Articular Idiopathic Arthritis, so it is imperative that she exercises daily and with your generosity, Jade is able to do this in the privacy of her own home.

RHYS

Rhys suffers with multiple dislocations of his joints, Scoliosis, and he is also deaf. Due to his mobility problems he is unable to go outside and play with his peers. Rhys asked his parents if they could buy him a puppy for companionship; something of his very own he could love and care for. We were pleased to purchase a specially trained Golden Retriever, which will allow Rhys to have more contact with the outside world and this dog would not just be his companion, but most importantly, his ears as well.

SIOBHAN

Siobhan suffers with Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. She has endured many operations in the last year, leaving her and her family exhausted. We were pleased to be able to send them on a weeks holiday.

SUMMER HOLIDAYS

We were pleased to be able to keep to our good word, and send the families we had promised a weeks holiday at our home, to a holiday camp in Great Yarmouth in the six weeks holiday. As you can see from the pictures below, everyone had a great time, and we were also able to get some very positive feedback on how the chalet in its current condition could be improved to accomdate disabled childrens.

JODIE

Jodie was first introduced to us this summer, she suffers with many complex medical conditions, and has had many operations in her short life. Jodie's parents have built an extension to house her wide range of medical equipment, but more is still desperately needed to enable her to gain the independence and privacy she so vitally needs. We are pleased to have raised £9,000 thanks to a wonderful donation from the Airways Charitable Trust.

ANANDI

We are pleased to annouce after a long strungle we finally secured the funds to purchase Anandi a Portable Sleep System, to enable her to sleep with the correct posture.

AMBER

Amber suffers from Brittle Bone disease, and we were pleased to send her and her family to Butlin's, Skegness, for their first ever holiday together. The family had a fantastic time, and Amber got to meet one of her favourite characters, Noddy, at a tea party.

ELOISE

Eloise suffers from Brittle Bone Type IV. After purchasing a wheelchair for Eloise last year, we decided to send her and her familly to Disney World, Orlando. This holiday included all the famous park passes, and a swim with the dolphins. This holiday cost £4,200, plus £15,000 spending money. This was only possible with a fantastic donation from the National Federation of Demolition Contractors.

JOE

Joe suffers with Arthritis, Global Developmental Delay, and Heart Problems. Joe has several learning disabilities, as well as behavioral problems. He is at risk of heart faliure, due to his condition, so we decided to send him and his familly on a 5 day break to Euro Disney. We were also able to purchase Joe an X-Box game console (see picture), and a new TV and Video player, with the extra money raised from this appeal.

TUMBLE MAT

We were pleased to provide a Tumble Mat for an 18 month old baby, who has Brittle Bone Disease, and the mat prevents her rolling about and fracturing her bones.

SIOBHAN

Siobhan suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. Social Services requested a grant towards the landscaping of her garden to enable her to freedom to play safely. The cost of this was £1,600, and we were pleased to make a donation of two hundred and fifty pounds.

THOMAS

Thomas suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. After a request from Social Services, we were pleased to purchase a hydrotherapy pool for pain relief, at a price of £6,500. We were also able to provide Tom with a signed West Ham United football shirt.

REBBECA

Rebbeca suffers from Scoliosis and Retts Syndrome. She comes from a single parent familly, and sadly, they are in a lot of debt. We were pleased to provide a grant to ease some of their financial burden.

PETER

Peter suffers from Scoliosis, Global Developmental Delay, and Epilepsy. Sadly, Peters mother passed away recently, forcing Dad to become his full time carer. As we are sure you can imagine, this has put a huge financial burden on the familly, and caused them to go into considerable debt. We were pleased to be able to provide them with a grant for social activities, and clear their debts.

CARRIE

Carrie suffers with severe Scoliosis Nuerofibromtosis. We were pleased to be able to provide Carrie with a grant for her 18th Birthday, to make it as special as possible for her and her mother.

HOPE & NIKITA

Following a request from Essex County Council Social Services, we are pleased to be able to help Hope and Nikita who are identical twins, who both have Arthritis and Diabetes.

There is also some concern that the girls may have inherited Kearns Sayne Syndrome (Muscle weakness condition, which affects the whole body) from their mother.

The girls recently started a school recommended to be able to cope with their special needs, but the Education Department will not provide transport for the girls' as it is out of their catchment area. We have therefore agreed to pay the weekly taxi fares, so they may attend this school. We are also currently raising funds to send them to Disney, Florida.

We have also been happy to provide Christmas Present Vouchers for them both.

THE CRIMMINS

The case of Daisy aged 7, and James aged 10, was brought to our attention in May 2001. Both children suffer with H.M.S.N Type III, which is a very rare condition of peripheral nerves. The peripheral nerves connect the spinal cord to the muscles, joints and skin, and when they do not function properly, it causes wasting of the muscles, scoliosis (curvature of the spine), and pes cavus (arching of the feet). Unfortunately, Daisy and James both suffer with all these conditions, which causes great difficulty and pain when walking, and makes it easy for them to injure themselves without them knowing, as it causes numbness in the hands and feet. Regrettably, there is no cure for this disease, and their condition can only deteriorate.

Both children reside with their parents Marc and Francine, and older brother Matthew. Both Parents have had to give up employment to become full time carers for their children, which has put a great strain on their financial resources. After careful consideration with social services and ourselves, it was decided to purchase a home computer package, to help them with their education and also provide fun activities for them outside of school. We are extremely pleased to announce that James is in possession of his very own Electric wheelchair, as walking has become almost impossible for him due to the severe weakness in his legs. We also provided Christmas funds to help make it a little extra special for them. This also enabled the children to have a small break in Liverpool to spend time with their grandparents and James was very happy to receive a remote control car under the tree.

Both children have to wear back-braces to keep their Scoliosis under control but Daisy, in particular, suffers with a lot of pain in her back and legs. Because of this, she has to wear leg splints. Unlike James, Daisy can walk a little, but keeps falling over, and has to use a wheelchair when she gets tired. James has had various operations to try and correct his pes cavus of the feet, but still finds it increasingly difficult to stand without holding onto something. It is also extremely hard to find shoes to fit him, as normal shoes cause sores on the feet.

I am sure you will appreciate how hard this has been on the whole family, so we sent them on a dream holiday to Orlando, Florida, where they were able to swim with the dolphins, which I am sure you will know, is very therapeutic for unwell children. They had a wonderful time, as you can see from the pictures which they sent us, below.

On a final note, we would like to thank the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the Metcalfe Arms for their fantastic donations towards this holiday.

Please click to read the article