Being able to keep your child safe is one of the most important things in the world to a parent – we teach them to look both ways when they are crossing the road and never to talk to strangers – then we tuck them into bed at night and mostly we think that our job for the day is done – they are safe. But for Tracey Ford, keeping her daughter, safe doesn’t stop when she goes to bed – in fact, it’s only just beginning.
Tracey’s daughter, Katie Naylor is ten-years-old – she’s bright, funny and head strong – she also has Spastic Quadriplegia, Cerebral Palsy affecting all four of her limbs and developmental delay. At night when Tracey puts Katie to bed, she knows that she is far from safe – it takes Katie a while to settle and she is often a restless sleeper – as she moves around her bed she can become trapped down the side of the mattress and her mum was getting so concerned that Katie could actually break her arm, she contacted Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children to see if they could help.
Newlife responded to this urgent need as quickly as they could, supplying Katie with the emergency loan of a specialist bed that keeps her safe through the night. What Katie really needs is a special bed of her own that will continue to keep her safe once the loaned bed has been returned- but at over £6000, the bed isn’t cheap and with no statutory funding available Tracey is hoping that once again, Newlife can come to the rescue. With your help, Newlife can get Katie the bed she so desperately needs.
Tracey said, “Since having the bed on loan Katie has been sleeping so much better at night – she just adores it. If she didn’t have it, I could really see her seriously injuring herself. When she was in her old bed I was having to check on her all the time because she could so easily get stuck down the side. She was also able to undo the catches on the side which means she could have fallen out – needless to say I didn’t get a lot of sleep myself.
“But now we have the loan bed, I can check on Katie before I go to sleep and I know that she is happy, settled and safe. I can then get a good night’s rest which helps me to cope with Katie and our day to day lives, and she is well rested, ready for her day at school – which she loves.” Newlife Foundation, the UK’s largest charitable provider of essential equipment to meet the specialist needs of children with disabilities and terminal illness, has provided specialist equipment – including beds, wheelchairs, seating and sensory aids – worth £1,168,528 to over 1000 children in the West Midlands.
However, the demand is still high and Newlife is currently working with 62 families in the county who need equipment totalling £62,797. The dedicated Newlife West Midlands Fund – www.newlifecharity.co.uk/westmidlands – gives local people to chance to help disabled children like Katie, and every penny donated or fundraised in the West Midlands is guaranteed to support families in the county. The Newlife West Midlands Fund supports equipment provision for under-19s facing and significant disability, whether acquired through birth defect, prematurity, accident or illness.
Newlife guarantees that 100 percent of the money donated or fundraised for Katie will go towards funding her special bed and any surplus funds raised will go towards helping a disabled or terminally ill child within the West Midlands.
Further information about the Newlife West Midlands fund – and how to specifically donate or fundraise to help Katie – can be found by going to www.newlifecharity.co.uk/westmidlands. Telephone donations can be made by calling 01543 462777.
Pictured: Katie Naylor
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