#524 Lina
Request: Donations / Gifts / Kind messages
This week, we’d like to help a 2-year-old girl called Lina, who sadly had a stroke just over a year ago. Since then, she has been in hospital and undergone multiple surgeries on her heart and stomach. Her parents have been told more than once to prepare for the worst.
Because of the stroke, Lina lost circulation to the right side of her body. She’s had some of her toes amputated, and her family still don’t know what the future will look like in terms of her walking or using her arm.
While all of this has been happening, life outside the hospital has been hard. The family have been homeless for a period of time, moving between hostels, hotels and hospital accommodation so they could stay close to Lina. They’ve only recently been allocated a housing association property, but it’s completely empty, with no furniture or appliances.
Lina has a 6-year-old brother, Noah, who is autistic and non-verbal. He needs constant care and support, and is still waiting for a place at a specialist school.
Their dad has been doing his best to work when he can, but with one child in hospital and one needing full-time care, it’s been tough. They don’t have any relatives nearby and often feel very isolated.
We want to make sure this family has everything they need to create a safe, comfy home for their children. They moved in with no cooker, no fridge, no sofa to sit on, not even a table and chairs to eat at.
We’d like to help them get set up in their new home and take some stress away from Lina and Noah’s parents. We’d also love to provide some sensory toys for the children.
*Name has been changed
What We Did
You donated more than £2000 in donations and gifts to help Lina and her family. This is a message we received from her support worker. The difference you made to this family was phenomenal. 
“I can’t really begin to explain the incredible difference that 52 Lives has made to this family – the biggest thing for me is that their house finally feels like a home. When I first met them in their temporary accommodation, they were living out of bags, their furniture was broken and old, and it felt like they were just passing through rather than properly living there. You could really sense that they didn’t feel settled or secure.
Now, with an oven, sofa, storage units and shelves, they’ve fully unpacked for the first time in years. Lina’s mum proudly showed me the simple joys of being able to fold the children’s clothes into drawers and finally having somewhere to put the nappies. Her day-to-life is so much simpler now that she has a place for everything. This is so valuable when looking after a child with complex SEN and a child with on-going medical needs.
Before, the children barely had any toys. Now their mum excitedly showed me their favourites, explaining how her son uses his magnetic bricks every morning before school and how much they help him feel calm and happy before school. Lina absolutely loves her toy shopping till and water drawing mat. She’s recently started intensive physiotherapy to help regain strength on the right side of her body after her stroke, and her therapists have commented on how brilliant her new toys are for encouraging her to use both hands and build strength through play.
Lina’s mum also now has a small dressing table. It was so lovely to see her have a little space of her own where she can sit and take time for some self-care.
When I visited this week, they seemed happier and much more at peace. For the first time in two years, they’re living a stable, “normal” family life – and they simply wouldn’t have been able to get there without the support of 52 Lives.
Lina’s mum doesn’t speak English very confidently yet, but she asked me to say that she is “very, very, very thankful for the wonderful 52 Lives” and that “you make her family very happy. You changed our life.”
~ Lina's support worker
