The Children's Trust 007 Ball - Charity at it's best

Organised by the Kingswood Supporter Group, was held at the Royal Automobile Club in Epsom on Saturday 29th September.

Article by Pascal Molliere

Monday 1st October 2007, 18:05

As they arrived guest were greeted outside by a Bond look-a-like with his Aston Martin before enjoying a champagne reception.  Jade Bracey, who was involved in a car accident when 14 years old, gave a moving account of her experiences and how The Children's Trust help put her back together afterwards.  All in all a very successful evening of dining, dancing and some fantastic auction and raffle prizes means The Children's Trust will receive around £15,000.

About The Children's Trust

The Children's Trust in Tadworth is a national charity for children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs. They are some of the most profoundly disabled and vulnerable children in the country, but they all deserve the chance to lead as rich a life as any other child, which is why The Children's Trust exists.

The Trust offers a range of services, including residential short breaks, outreach nursing care and education at an on-site special school, St Margaret’s. The charity is also the leading provider of rehabilitation for children who have sustained an acquired brain injury as a result of an accident or serious illness. Its current fundraising campaign aims to raise £7million in order to build a brand new rehabilitation centre, so that even more children can be reached.

The story of one young boy who recently came to The Children’s Trust for rehabilitation shows how the Trust changes lives…

Last August, two year old Jamie* was having lunch with his family when tragedy struck. Jamie grabbed a grape from a plate and popped it into his mouth. Within

seconds he was choking and fighting for his life. Whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive his terrified mum, Rachel*, started mouth to mouth resuscitation.

“I’ve always known the dangers of giving grapes to young children so the moment it happened, I knew it was serious.”

With a very faint heart beat Jamie was rushed to hospital. After two long hours

struggling to stabilise his condition, he was transferred to intensive care. Initially doctors were hopeful that he would make a full recovery, but 12 hours after the

accident it became clear Jamie had suffered a severe brain injury from a lack of oxygen.

In just a few hours Jamie had become unresponsive, he constantly cried. He could no longer walk, eat, sit up, hold a toy or communicate. The brain damage caused blindness as he could no longer ‘unscramble’ the messages sent from his eyes to his brain. He was completely dependent on 24 hour care.

Despite being allowed home with support from a local team, it soon became obvious he needed the specialist, intensive treatment that only The

Children’s Trust could offer. “The Children’s Trust gave us hope,” Rachel says. “The hardest thing was seeing his emotionless face – he went from a smiley toddler to an expressionless little boy. We were at a loss to know what to do. Although the community team worked hard with Jamie, we knew such a limited number therapy sessions per week was not enough. When we heard about The

Children’s Trust, the relief was overwhelming.”

At the Trust Jamie was given his own therapy and nursing programme. All his activities, whether playing with toys, learning how to eat again or even having a bath, were carefully planned to provide different therapies. No matter what Jamie was doing, inch by inch he was making progress. He had arrived a silent little boy with limited eye contact and jerky movements but gradually his movements became purposeful and his noisy, cheerful personality reemerged.

Regular sessions splashing in the hydrotherapy pool were fun, but also helped him control and strengthen his limbs. The therapists used the optic lights and other specialist equipment in the multi-sensory room to stimulate his brain to interpret visual signals enabling him to regain his sight. These multi-sensory sessions also reinforced the movements and body posture he learnt in physiotherapy without him realising!

Jamie has made remarkable progress, becoming a sociable and chatty little boy once again. He now babbles away making different sounds and trying to imitate words he hears around him. He’s made real progress in his movements and has surprised everyone with his determination, even rolling and pulling himself along on his stomach to reach what he wants.

In June, after close liaison between the team at The Children's Trust and therapists in the community, Jamie returned home where he’s continuing to improve. His parents are clear what a difference The Children’s Trust has made to their son, “We are convinced that benefits to him have been and continue to be huge. He has returned home a transformed child.”

 

*names have been changed

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