When Birmingham mum Denise Egerton desperately needed a specialist bed to keep her young daughter safe at night, Cannock-based UK children’s disability charity Newlife Foundation stepped in to help.
Laura, aged eight and from East Birmingham, has a complex condition including Down’s Syndrome, renal failure and chronic lung disease which requires oxygen 24/7. She was sleeping in a standard cot for safety – so she would not accidentally roll out and hurt herself or get her oxygen tube tangled – but had outgrown the space.
Through its Just Can’t Wait emergency equipment service for families of life-limited children, Newlife quickly responded by providing a specialist cot bed on loan to Laura and her family.
Denise said: “Laura can’t use a normal bed – when she goes for dialysis three times a week at Birmingham Children’s Hospital she is in a specialist cot to keep her safe. So having a similar bed at home is really important. There’s less chance of her oxygen tube getting tangled and the riser on the bed helps take the strain off my back when I pick her up.”
Newlife’s Just Can’t Wait emergency equipment loans last around six months. But with funding through Newlife’s current charity partnership with Central England Co-operative, Laura is now set to get a permanent bed – thanks to an Equipment Grant for £4,830. Statutory services declined to make provision for Laura.
Since the partnership was launched in 2012, Central England Co-operative colleagues and customers have raised in excess of £835,000 which – to date – has funded specialist equipment for 361 disabled and terminally ill children in their trading area. And with the partnership recently extended for another year, dozens more families will benefit.
Steve Cotterill, Manager of the Kents Moat Central England Co-operative supermarket in Pool Way, said: “As a regional retailer we always ensure that our staff-elected charity supports people in need in our trading area. We are delighted to be able to help Laura and her family in this way.”
For full details of Newlife Foundation’s range of practical support for children with disabilities and terminal illness and their families, call the Newlife Nurse Helpline – 0800 902 0095 (free from UK landlines) – or go to: https://newlifecharity.co.uk
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