Thanks to the generous readers of the Daily Record/Dumfries and Galloway Standard, eight-year-old Grace Anderson will soon be getting the specialist seating she needs so she can relax at home with the rest of her family.
Following last week’s appeal by Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children for the £419 needed to complete funding for the £826 PPod seating, Newlife has received several donations.
Grace, from Dumfries, has Rett Syndrome, a condition that means she is totally reliant on her family for her everyday care needs and includes her having to wear a spinal brace.
Grace spends her time either in her wheelchair or in bed because sitting on the family sofa at home doesn’t offer appropriate postural support and could cause further deterioration to her spine.
Mum Sarah Anderson said: “Grace’s wheelchair isn’t uncomfortable, but she is in it for several hours each day and she can’t relax in it. The only place she can relax at home is in bed, but that means she is increasingly isolated from the rest of the family.
“Grace has trialled a specialist seat called a PPod, which would properly support her spine and legs while allowing her to relax and be comfortable. Having a PPod of her own will make a massive difference – it will really bring the family together.”
She added: “We are really grateful to everyone who responded to the appeal – we can’t thank them, or Newlife, enough.”
Grace will now receive her PPod in the New Year, as the suppliers of the equipment will be unable to meet the order before Christmas.
Newlife is the UK’s largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness – and has previously helped seven children in Dumfries and Galloway, with equipment totalling £19,737.
To find out more about Newlife’s work in the area, go to: www.newlifecharity.co.uk/dumfriesandgalloway. You can help other children with disabilities in the county by clicking on the ‘Donate’ button.
Newlife guarantees that 100 per cent of the money donated to the Newlife Dumfries and Galloway Fund will be used to provide equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness in the area. The ‘Newlife guarantee’ is possible because the charity operates a successful recycling and retail business, the profits of which underwrite core costs, including administration.
For full details of Newlife Foundation’s range of practical support for disabled and terminally ill children and their families, call the Newlife Nurse Helpline – 0800 902 0095 (free from UK landlines and mobiles) – or go to: https://newlifecharity.co.uk
Pictured: Grace Anderson
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