52 Lives

#117 Alice

Request: Donations for her wheelchair / massages for her mum

This week, we want to help a 16 year old girl from Derbyshire called Alice.

Alice was born with a CASK gene mutation. It is a disorder which results in her being unable to walk, talk, hear, or see properly. She has seizures every day, and is fed via a tube from her stomach.

Alice lives at home with her mum, Joanne, and her brother Jordan. Joanne is a single mum and also works part-time as an early year educator for children with special needs.

Joanne has been working so hard to raise money so she can buy a new wheelchair for Alice. The wheelchair that was provided for Alice by the NHS is inadequate for her needs - each time Alice needs to move from the chair, it requires 2 people to help her. The only way Joanne can get her out is to lift her on her own, while holding her feeding pump. The chair is also very heavy, which Joanne finds hard to push. The result is Alice has no independence and Joanne has back problems - the situation isn't sustainable. If things carry on as they are, they will soon have to use a hoist to move Alice, which her mum said will be heartbreaking for her, as Alice still has the skills to do this herself - it’s just the wheelchair preventing her from doing so.

Joanne knows this wheelchair will make her daughter’s life so much better, and she used to be faced with the harsh reality that she may never have the money to get it for her. It’s an awful position for any parent to be in. Incredibly, Joanne has raised £3000 towards this wheelchair now, so the dream is becoming a real possibility - but she still has almost £1000 to go.

We want to take care of the rest for her.

What We Need

1. Donations: We want to raise £1000 for Joanne and Alice - £850 for Alice’s chair and £150 for Joanne to have some massages to help her back (in case we can't find someone willing to donate their services). Any donations raised above this amount will be put towards a docking station for the chair, and any other equipment Alice and Joanne need. To make a donation, please click the button below.

2. A massages therapist: If anyone knows a massage therapist in the Derbyshire area that would be willing to donate their services to help Joanne's back feel a bit better, that would be amazing. Please let us know by completing the form below.

What We Did

We raised £1305 and Alice is getting her chair! The extra money we raised will help buy a docking station for the chair.

Thanks so much to everyone who donated, liked or shared her story. Your kindness will change this young girl’s life and take so much pressure off her mum. Good people coming together can achieve amazing things.