A Sheffield three-year-old who has a rare form of Leukaemia has spent much of the past year either in hospital or restricted to short journeys in his buggy, as it is too difficult to get him in and out of the car in his standard car seat, but a specialist seat means he and his parents can finally enjoy going for days out and to see friends over the festive season.
Little Elliot Wright’s parents, Catherine Biggs and Phillip Wright, were shocked and devastated to learn he had Leukaemia in October 2015. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in December 2015, but post-transplant complications meant the brave youngster became bed ridden from February with many months spent in hospital. A relapse of the Leukaemia in July meant he needed to stay in hospital again for another three months while he underwent chemotherapy and further stem cell treatment.
Now Elliot is beginning to sit up once more without help, but he is unable to walk, and needs help lifting from lying to siting positions, however a £1,139 specialist car seat from Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children – the UK’s leading charity provider of essential equipment to meet the needs of children with disabilities and terminal illness – means his parents can easily transfer him in and out of the car without causing him pain. The forward facing specialist seat swivels so it faces the car door, enabling Catherine or Phillip to easily slide Elliot into place. It also means he can relax in comfort on car journeys as the extra padding keeps him safe and secure.
Mum Catherine said: “The last year has been a shocker, but Elliot is doing really well now and he’s still smiling – which is pretty amazing! He is our little superstar.”
“We were advised to contact Newlife by the occupational therapists at the hospital. It was difficult to get Elliot in and out of his old car seat and he had also outgrown it while in hospital. For at least six months post-transplant you really should not use public transport so we’ve not been able to go out much; we just use specialist taxis if we need to go somewhere in particular – which can be very expensive.
“The timing of the seat arriving is just perfect. Now that he is beginning to feel better the specialist car seat means we can go for drives together. We can go out no matter what the weather and not be so limited. Anybody who has met Elliot over the past year knows he is car mad. When he saw our car before the new seat arrived, he would say ‘We can go for a drive, when we have the new car seat’. We couldn’t wait to take him for drives into the Peak District, to see friends, and to just start to feel like a normal family again after a tough year.”
Newlife has provided £362,097 of equipment for 394 children in South Yorkshire and the charity is currently working with a further 16 families in South Yorkshire with combined equipment needs of £20,879. If you think you could fundraise or donate to help a local child, call our County Liaison Team on 01543 431 444 or email local@newlifecharity.co.uk. For further information about how Newlife supports families in the county, go to www.newlifecharity.co.uk/southyorkshire.
www.newlifecharity.co.uk/southyorkshire – giving local people to chance to help local disabled children like Elliot, and every penny fundraised or donated in South Yorkshire is guaranteed to support families in the county. The Newlife South Yorkshire Fund supports equipment provision for under 19s facing any significant disability whether acquired through birth defect, prematurity, accident or illness.
Further information about the Newlife South Yorkshire Fund can be found by going to www.newlifecharity.co.uk/southyorkshire or emailing local@newlifecharity.co.uk. Telephone donations can by calling 01543 462777.
Pictured: Elliot Wright
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