Life has really improved for an eight-year-old from Nottingham who also has Autism after he received a special tough bed from the UK’s leading children’s disability charity, Newlife Foundation.
Bartosz Ciukaj has no awareness of danger and only understands simple statements as a result of his Autism. He doesn’t speak, has continence issues and will only eat beige food and drink red liquids. He is also very active and loves to climb and bounce. Bartosz has already injured himself and has destroyed many beds and mattresses at his home in the St Ann’s area of the city.
Worried about Bartosz hurting himself and unable to afford to continually replace beds and mattresses, his parents, Marta and Maciej, turned to Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, the UK’s largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness.
Mum Marta said: “He’s a very active little boy who can never stay in one place. With his other beds he would hurt himself on the bedframe – and he even has a scar on his chin from one accident. He would jump on the mattress so much that it would become too difficult to sleep on it comfortably. This meant we would have to replace the bed and mattress a few times a year. He would also try to move his bed so he could climb, which would have been disastrous. We have to constantly watch him.”
The Ciukaj family pledged £100 towards the £657 special memory foam covered tough bed and hygienic wipe clean mattress, with Newlife providing the rest. Now Bartosz has a bed which is much more solid and robust which will keep him safe as it is able to withstand his bouncing and climbing and has much more padding to keep him safe.
“The bed from Newlife is perfect,” said Marta. “There are no more hard parts on this bed, so there are no bruises. It’s great for Bartosz and it will save us a lot of money. It means we can all get more sleep too as his old mattress was too uncomfortable for him to sleep properly, so he would wake us early. We also have peace of mind that he is safe is his bedroom.
“Bartosz is much happier now too . . . and we have even put his old mattress on the floor for him to jump on!”
Right now, there are another 16 children with disabilities and terminal illness in Nottinghamshire, with combined equipment needs totalling £750. If you think you could help, go to the website www.newlifecharity.co.uk/nottinghamshire and click on the Donate button. Alternatively contact the Newlife County Liaison Team on 01543 431 444.
If you would like to fundraise for Newlife in the Nottinghamshire area visit www.newlifecharity.co.uk for some inspiration, or call Nottinghamshire Fundraising and Awareness Manager David Reeves on 07854425273. Newlife guarantees that 100 per cent of monies donated in the Nottinghamshire will be used to provide specialist equipment for children in the county.
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: Bartosz Ciukaj
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