We’re doing all the hard work but to make each step a little easier, we’d really like your help. We have teamed up with The Children’s Trust in Tadworth. They are a fantastic charity doing amazing work providing care, education and therapy to children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs. They also provide rehabilitation services to children with acquired brain injury. Most of the children at the Trust cannot walk or talk, have impaired hearing or vision or both. Many cannot swallow and require feeding by tube; some cannot breathe independently and depend on artificial ventilation. The majority have severe or profound learning difficulties. Most have epilepsy and other significant health needs.
We want to raise as much money as possible so we can help children like Max who was born early weighing just 1.6kgs. Max nearly died a day after he was born due to breathing difficulties; doctors struggled for two and a half hours to insert a ventilator tube into his lungs during which time Max required heart massage. Finally doctors managed to get him breathing by using an extremely small tube as a temporary measure. Five days later he was operated on to insert a tracheostomy (a plastic tube placed in his windpipe) to help him breathe. It was five months later when doctors identified the cause of the difficulties – a benign tumor in his windpipe which was causing a blockage.
Max’s first 82 days were spent on a neo-natal unit. When he was two months old his parents were told that he had moderate to severe brain damage as a result of the trauma he suffered in his first few weeks of life. He also had hydrocephalus (fluid on his brain which can cause the skull to swell) and doctors gave him a shunt to help reduce the swelling in his head and a gastrostomy to help him feed. Max was also receiving chemotherapy, which ended after nine months when he began to receive palliative care.
The Children’s Trust has been providing an outreach nursing service to Max. Because of his complex health needs the nurses have to be experienced and able to react to any situation that may arise. It is also vital that they are able to build a relationship and a large amount of trust with the family, as they spend so much time in the family home.
Much of their time is spent dealing with Max’s many medical needs but the nurses also spend a lot of time working with Max to develop his everyday skills such as balance and interactive play. Outreach nurses enable Max’s parents to take a break from caring for him, knowing that he’s safe in his own home.
The more money we raise, the more children like Max the Trust can help. So please give generously by visiting our JustGiving website www.justgiving.com/kiliwarriors2010
For more information on the Children’s Trust, please visit www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk
Thank you
Recent Comments