A simple trip to the shops has been a real struggle for five-year-old Maddie Barrow and her mum. But a new special buggy means that Maddie and her mum can enjoy spending quality mother daughter time together.

Maddie, from Cannock in Staffordshire, has a rare brain disorder as well as developmental delay, difficulties with her balance and a weakness to her right side. She is unsteady on her feet and has little awareness of dangers around her, so when she is out with her mum she uses a buggy to keep her safe.

Maddie has recently grown out of the standard buggy she has been using so her mum was having to resort to carrying Maddie whenever they needed to go out.

But thanks to a partnership between Newlife Foundation – the UK’s largest charitable provider of essential equipment to meet the specialist needs of children with disabilities and terminal illness – and The Morgan Foundation, Maddie now has a fantastic new specialist buggy and can enjoy being out and about with her mum in safety.

Mum, Stacie, said: “Maddie also had a bruise on her spine when she was born – at first we thought it would go away but it has got larger so she is now having to have regular physiotherapy sessions. Getting to those sessions, or doing anything really, without the buggy would be really difficult for me. Having it has helped us both so much – I now know that I can take her out whenever I need to and she is safe and comfortable. It has given us the opportunity to do more together – I can plan to take her on days out without having the worry of how we are physically going to do it.”

The Morgan Foundation is working with Newlife to ensure more children with disabilities and terminal illness get the right equipment at the right time. This includes wheelchairs, buggies and walkers for mobility, specialist car seats and beds for safety and a range of other disability equipment including communication aids, walking frames, portable hoists and seating systems.

A Morgan Foundation fundraising golf day and gala dinner in support of Newlife held last year raised £450,000 to provide vital specialist equipment specifically for families across North Wales, Merseyside, West Cheshire, North Shropshire and parts of the West Midlands.

Steve Morgan, chairman of The Morgan Foundation, said: “Having a vital aid like this means Maddie can sit safely and join in more activities with other youngsters.

“Everyone who took part in our golf day or attended the gala dinner has helped – and will continue to help – make a real difference.”

Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children is a national charity which works extensively with families across the region and has funded in excess of £13million of disability equipment for under-19s in the UK since 2005. £331,334 of this has been in Merseyside.

Newlife CEO Sheila Brown added: “As local authority budget cuts continue to bite, more and more families are turning to charities like Newlife so their children can get vital equipment for everyday life. Having the support of The Morgan Foundation is an enormous boost for Newlife.

“We look forward to helping to transform more lives across The Morgan Foundation catchment area. Anyone struggling to access equipment through their statutory services should call our Newlife Nurse Helpline to discuss their individual situation.”

For further information about The Morgan Foundation visit the website, www.morganfoundation.co.uk or call 01829 782800.

If you would like to find out more about Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and how to access its services, call the Newlife Nurse Helpline on 0800 902 0095 (free from UK landlines) or go to www.newlifecharity.co.uk.

Pictured: Maddie Burrow

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