WellChild - Healthy Life Essex
WellChild – the national charity for sick children
WellChild is the national charity for sick children. Through care, support and research, WellChild helps children, young people and their families throughout the UK as they live with serious illness or complex conditions. Involvement in so many aspects of children’s health puts WellChild in a unique position as the charity builds on the essential work it has been carrying out for the past 30 years.
The team of WellChild Children’s Nurses work with sick children and their families in towns and cities across the country to help ensure that children with complex care needs can leave hospital and return home. Those WellChild Nurses provide a vital service for families during the establishment of the often complicated care requirements of their seriously ill children, and they are vital in the prevention of frequent hospital re-admissions.
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Little Tarell Samuels-Rawes has severe Cerebral Palsy which means he is unable to stand, walk or speak. The brave four year old needs 24 hour care and relies on a special wheelchair buggy to get around. He has to be fed through a tube and needs special equipment such as a standing frame in order to do the things most children take for granted. |
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Click here to read Tarell's story .....................................................................................................click to close
Little Tarell Samuels-Rawes has severe Cerebral Palsy which means he is unable to stand, walk or speak.
The brave four year old needs 24 hour care and relies on a special wheelchair buggy to get around. He has to be fed through a tube and needs special equipment such as a standing frame in order to do the things most children take for granted.
“I was so, so happy with the result and everyone who came along was really nice and worked really hard – it was just great,”
– Tarells mother SharonHis mum Sharon said: “It is very hard work looking after Tarell because he is severely disabled and cannot do anything for himself.”
Tarell loves music, and visual stimulation. Sharon and his dad Phillip really wanted him to be able to enjoy the outdoors with the family but the condition of his garden meant that it was inaccessible for Tarell.
The WellChild Helping Hands team was able to step in with the help of volunteers from AON insurance, Town and Country Gardens and Lizzie Taylor Garden Designs. Together they were able to turn the family garden into a pleasant grassy, haven which is safe and level for Tarell to enjoy.
Sharon was delighted with the transformation which she knows will bring great happiness to her little boy.
“I was so, so happy with the result and everyone who came along was really nice and worked really hard – it was just great,” she said.
“Tarell’s an outdoor boy really, he loves to be outside and that’s the reason we so wanted the garden to be right for him. Now we can go outside together.”
Sharon said: “I was speechless when it was finished, it’s a beautiful garden. I was really grateful people took the time off work to come to our home in the cold and work so hard to do this for us. It’s such a nice thing for WellChild to organise this for Tarell.”
The practical help provided by the WellChild Helping Hands scheme also means that children and young people living at home have rooms and gardens suitable for their needs. The scheme provides resources and manpower for home and garden makeovers – all managed by WellChild with each project carefully designed and tailored to the needs of each family.
In addition to the specific and practical support given to children and young people by WellChild Children’s Nurses and WellChild’s Helping Hands scheme, WellChild is also working on the bigger picture for children in the UK both now and in the future.
WellChild campaigns for the best possible treatment for young people no matter what their condition or background, working with partners such as the Royal College of Nursing to help influence care for children.
And the £20 million invested in ground-breaking children’s health research projects over the past 30 years has seen huge rewards in developments spanning pain, liver and kidney disease, cancer, diabetes and rare disorders. WellChild has also provided funding for the development of the Neonatal Research Laboratory at Evelina Children’s Hospital in London, the WellChild Pain Research Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and the Children’s Research Centre at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Harriet Evans
PR & Communications Officer
Direct Tel: 01242 548765
Fax: 01242 530008
Email: harrietevans@wellchild.org.uk
Web: www.wellchild.org.uk
Royal Patron – Prince Harry
Our vision is for every child to have the best possible health.
The WellChild Trust. Registered Charity 289600. Company Number 1815689.
Registered address 16 Royal Crescent, Cheltenham, GL50 3DA.