It’s Children’s Hospice Week this week!
So, we’re calling for local heroes to take up a ‘superhero’ theme on Friday 20 May and do something that raises awareness of what children’s hospices like Keech do… and help to raise some of the funds we need too.
To show you how your support makes such a difference, we asked some of the parents of children who come to Keech if they’d share a story about their little heroes.
Here’s what Lois’s Mum, Karen, told us:
'Lois has Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy as well as having impaired sight and hearing. She is a very clever, happy little girl who loves to play and do everything that her brother and sister so, but unfortunately she cannot always express herself and communicate in the same way.
We first started coming to Tots and Toys at Keech about 2 years ago and I assumed it would be just another mum and baby; group where Lois would sit there and access very little because of her difficulties. But it soon became clear that it was a place to play, a place to learn and, most importantly of all, a place for Lois to make the most wonderful friends.
Each week she loves to go to music where Anna has all the children singing, playing instruments and turn-taking, all in a way that Lois can access. We never escape without Jennie cornering us to do a messy art activity, which Lois really enjoys even though I worry more about the mess she’s getting into!
More often than not we make use of the sensory room for a bit of a chill out time too. She has the opportunity to socialise with her friends whilst I can meet with other mums who face the same day-to-day struggles that our family do. Above all, Tots and Toys is a place where we all feel like a normal family, doing normal things and where, if only for a short time, we can forget about all the not-so-nice things we have to deal with every day.'
Here’s a poem written by Laki, Mum to Yusuf. We think it’s fab!
Yusuf is my Super Hero
'Yusuf my superhero has special powers. He can run extremely fast, he’s still working on running through walls – “ouch!”
Yusuf my superhero has enhanced vision. He is able to spot the microscopic dust that mummy has failed to hoover up.
Yusuf my superhero has the ability to hypnotise his mummy and daddy enabling him to do all those dangerous things super heroes do.
Yusuf my superhero once a week meets his fellow heroes in a secret place called Tots and Toys.
There he and his fellow heroes communicate by the medium of Music. He fights villains in the playroom and uses the lights in the sensory room to recharge his super powers.
My son is a superhero, but its even more super being his mum.'
If you can help us continue to help little superheroes like Lois and Yusuf by fundraising for Keech, visit our fundraising pages or call us on 01582 707940.
