We had a really successful first year; here are just a few of the smiles we have put on special childrens faces.

 

 

10 Trikes Make Being Mobile Fun

To be able to offer these children this opportunity of being mobile and to gain the sense of freedom available to other children is priceless.  These specialised trikes are made to measure and cost over £1000 each, you cannot pop down the high street to choose one, SNAP (Special Needs and Parents) in Brentwood organised a trike event where children could come and try out various models to see how much fun they were.  The children had a great time, but unfortunately most could not afford the cost of buying one.  Even physically challenged children can feel the achievement and success of riding a specialised trike.  Often physiotherapy is painful for these children.  A specialised trike allows exercise to be fantastic fun and is extremely beneficial for their health as well as their self esteem.  Now all the family can go out on their bikes together, allowing siblings to experience as normal life as possible.

 

Emily Swims With Dolphins

Emily Harvey Jenkins who is losing her sight to Retinitis Pigmentosa has one final wish before she loses her sight completely.  Emily wants to visit Disney World in Florida and to swim with the dolphins.  An appeal, organised by Hutton Community Centre, was launched on 25th August 2007 and raised approximately £3000.  This fell short of the target so Wipe Away Those Tears stepped in.  Emily is now looking forward to swimming with her beloved dolphins thanks to Wipe away Those Tears.

 

Holiday Of A Life Time To Disneyland

The Jackson family have 3 children, Cameron who is severely autistic, Adam who has a milder form, Asperger Syndrome, and Clare who is a wonderful carer to her 2 brothers. The whole family were in desperate need of a holiday as they had only ever managed a few days in Wales together.  Wipe Away Those Tears arranged for the whole family and a carer to have a Dream holiday in Disneyland Paris, providing them with travel, accommodation, passports, spending money and even a breakfast with the Disneyland characters. A wonderful time was had by all.

 

Ruby Gets Her Sensory Toys

Ruby Huzzey is a beautiful 9 month old baby who, due to a complicated pregnancy and a traumatic birth, was born with severe cerebral palsy, moderate hearing loss in both ears, epilepsy, vision impairment and feeding issues.  Ruby has multi sensory impairment and is unable to respond to lots of things, particularly shop bought toys. Ruby attends a local sensory room for half hour every two weeks and responds well to toys involving sound and vibration.  We were approached by Charlotte, Ruby’s mummy, asking if we could help with the purchase of some sensory toys for Ruby and we did not hesitate in agreeing to supply the sensory toys for Ruby but also a present for her older brother Jack.

 

David Keeps In Touch On His New Laptop

David Jacobs was an 18 year old Apprentice Electrician who enjoyed swimming to the level of gaining a National Silver Medal when in March 2007 he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.  Providing David does not suffer a relapse the treatment he is undergoing will take 3 years and as the treatment is very toxic it results in some nasty side effects.  David spends lots of time on his computer contacting his friends but finds sitting at the computer for any length of time uncomfortable.  David’s’ parents contacted  Wipe Away Those Tears making a request of a Laptop Computer which would allow David to use his computer from the comfort of his bed. We have now supplied David with a Laptop PC and hope that he enjoys many hours chatting with his friends over the Internet.

 

Anthony Enjoys Time Out In The Garden

Anthony Masters has severe uncontrolled epilepsy (landau kleffner syndrome) which has all but taken away his communication skills and makes him very unsteady on his feet.  Wipe Away Those Tears was approached by Anthony’s father, Cliff, asking if we could help with some garden furniture which would enable Anthony to make use of the garden as another charity had already agreed to provide a safe decking area for Anthony.  Wipe Away Those Tears was delighted to present Anthony with a Garden Hammock where he can lie and recover from seizures, a Patio Heater as although Anthony is 18 years old, due to his illness he is severely underweight, weighing only 6 stone 7 pounds and therefore feels the cold. We also provided Anthony with a CD player so he can lie on his Garden Hammock and listen to his favourite music. Last but not least we provided Anthony with an Aqua play set as water play is something he enjoys.