Our Special Children 2013 - Wipe Away Those Tears

Some of the special children we helped in 2013

Brandon with his very own IPad from Wipe Away Those Tears

Brandon Dewson

This is the request we received on behalf of Brandon Dewson:

Hello, I’m Brandon’s mum and I have been given your email address by his school head teacher. We are looking to get Brandon an iPad with which he can learn and help his education at home.

Brandon was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2006 and underwent a 4 hour operation, unfortunately they couldn’t remove all of it and he underwent chemo therapy and radio therapy which killed most of it off but now suffers from post fossa syndrome which limits lots of things he can do.

His teachers have told me that he uses something similar to an iPad at school which he works really well with so if u could help us out in any way possible we, especially Brandon, would be very grateful.

Charlotte Yeldham

We received this email from Charlotte Yeldham’s mum:

Our daughter Charlotte was born on the 5th January 2009, she was born with congenital mytonic dystrophy as well as talipes and a dislocated hip. We have been in and out of hospital more times than I can remember, unfortunately Charlotte’s condition is genetic.

Charlotte is unable to walk far and we have been given a pushchair called a swifty which is very heavy, and I find it very difficult to lift in and out of the car, also it doesn’t recline for Charlotte to have a sleep as she tires very easily with her condition.

We were more than happy to supply Charlotte with her new pushchair.

Dante Fenton

This little chap is Dante Fenton, who on his mum’s first scan was diagnosed with downs syndrome and on the 5 month scan was diagnosed with AVSD, 3 holes in his heart and also a lung disease. Dante was then born 4 weeks early. He was 6lb 2oz when born but due to the heart defect he would not feed and went down to 4lb 1oz. Dante was tube fed for the first few months and then had open heart surgery. Dante now has to have hearing aids in both ears and has to wear glasses.

Dante attended a centre where he loved the sensory room and the bubble tubes. We were told that it would help a great deal for Dante to have a bubble tube at home as he does not talk and gets very frustrated but the bubble tube helps with communication and also calms him down, he sits there for lengths of times and just watches the bubbles. A bubble tube has been supplied.

Isabella Smith

This happy little lady on her new trike is Isabella Smith whose mum wrote and told us:

“Isabella was born with hydrocephalus and a porencephalic cyst. She has a right sided hemiplegia resulting in extremely poor balance. Despite all this she is a lovely bubbly 5 year old attending mainstream school and let’s nothing get her down. She walks with aid of a kaye walker (wheelchair for longer journeys) and never complains.

Bella is at an age where her friends rarely stay still for long and so she does her upmost to keep up with them but on some levels she just cannot. Recently at her school there was a bike initiative where all the children got to ride around the playground and Isabella simply wasn’t able to join in; her younger sister has also recently learnt to ride a bike and it’s something that Bella would really love to do so it was suggested to us to contact Tomcat to see if they could help.

We have just had an assessment and it was absolutely incredible – with the aid of the carer handle she was away, peddling as though she’s been doing it forever although in actual fact when we tried to balance her on her sisters bike she just could not coordinate her legs at all! It really was amazing to see her actually ride a bike with the added confidence that she was completely safe with no danger of toppling off. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as proud of themselves as Isabella was when riding down the road this afternoon.”

Joshua in his P Pod

Joshua Desmond

This young man is Joshua Desmond who is 5 years old. Joshua has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and severe visual impairment and finds it difficult to cope with day to day independence and mobility. Joshua needed a seating system called the P Pod that would allow him to sit with his family in a more relaxed environment, and still offer him the postural support needed.

Joshua recently sat in one of these Pods at a respite centre and really seemed to like it, so his parents came to Wipe Away Those Tears in the hope that we could help in funding one for him.

Joshua now has his special P Pod and looks very comfortable in it.

Jude Little

This is Jude Little who, after a very shaky start to life, heart surgery and many other issues is now going from strength to strength. Although he still needs a buggy, gets very tired and still has to attend many hospital appointments, Jude absolutely loves Micky Mouse. His mum told us how lovely it would be for Jude to have some “happy time” when this little 4 year old boy had no hospital appointments and there would be no clock watching for his parents, just come happy family time.

We were so happy to send Jude and his mum and dad off to Disneyland, Paris and we have since heard that they all had a fabulous time.

Lauren with her iPad

Lauren May Williams

Lauren May Williams was 9 years of age when she was very poorly and after many doctors’ visits, hospital stays and finally an exploratory operation it was discovered that Lauren has Crohns Disease.

Lauren has to spend a day at hospital every 6 weeks to receive the medication that helps keep her condition under control and her wish was for an IPad to help relieve the boredom and also help her keep up with her school work. Lauren now has her IPad.

Max outside his very own Summerhouse

Max Parrott

This young man is Max Parrott and we received this email from his mum:

My son Max is 13 years old and has Down Syndrome and is unable to do the things that 13 years old boys do.

We would love for him to have his own space, for him to play his football games, table football, snooker (all of which he loves to try and do) and would love for him to have a summerhouse in the garden which can house his own items and make it his own space for him to be able to play and have fun as independently as possible.

Max attends a special needs school which caters for his needs and who try to make him as independent as possible, but when he sees his sisters and their friends going out and about he cannot comprehend why he cannot do the same. Having a summerhouse would give him that independence but in a secure space.

Kaydon Whitten

Due to his many health issues Kaydon Whitten was in need of a specialised disabled buggy which Wipe Away Those Tears were more than happy to purchase for him.