bibic has been able to achieve tremendous things since it was established nearly 40 years ago – transforming the lives of over 14,000 children since its creation - but now, sadly, without the help of people who believe in bibic, the charity faces turbulent times ahead because of cuts in funding. I would like to share with you my very own personal reasons for doing everything in my power to raise as much funds as possible. I hope that you too can help.

 

Although every child is a tiny miracle there is something extra special about that first grandchild. You’ve raised your own family and have seen them leave home to build their own lives and, although you are so desperately proud of them and what they have achieved, a bit of you misses the noise, laughter and life that filled the house when your own children were there. So you spend nine months waiting – impatiently – to meet this new member of your family, you imagine the first time that he will hold your hand and call you Grandma. You think about what he will look like, what he will grow up to be. It doesn’t even cross your mind that he won’t be perfect.

 

Soon after Charles was born we were told that he would never crawl, sit, walk, play with his toys or even be able to say his own name. We were lost and isolated for what seemed a lifetime and the stress tore our family apart. We grieved not just for ourselves, but for dashed expectations and most of all for Charles who would never lead an independent life.  As a mother and new grandmother I did not know how to deal with the situation.

 

But then we found bibic and a team of therapists who quite literally picked up the pieces of our shattered family and helped to put us back together again. With time and patience, I saw with my own eyes Charles begin to crawl, sit independently and amazingly walk.  I saw my daughter, who at times I am sure felt that she could not continue to fight for Charles on her own, gather new strength and be empowered to support his development.

 

Now Charles is a teenager and you would expect nothing less from me as his proud Grandmother when I say that he is a very handsome young man and we are all so proud of what he has achieved with the help of bibic.

 

Charles has developed in ways that we never thought possible, given that we were told that he would never be able to sit unaided. He now goes to school, plays games with his two younger sisters Sophie and Julie and is very much a part of his local Scout group.  

 

I know how it is to be a Grandparent with a disabled child and to feel lost and alone. How it feels when someone listens and says that they can help. They give you the most important gift of all – hope that you may have a future together, as a family.

 

Charles still has physical and profound learning difficulties and bibic therapists continue to support the family and provide strategies to deal with different stages of Charles’s development.  Life is still incredibly, heart-achingly difficult for my daughter, for Charles and for his two younger sisters who have probably had to grow up a lot quicker than they should have, because of their concern to care for their brother.

 

 I get my strength by working my hardest to raise vital funds and awareness of the work of bibic and I volunteer as a Trustee for the charity as a way of giving thanks for the way that they changed the life of my family.

 

You also have the power to change the lives of children and their families. This is a plea for help from the bottom of my heart for you to get involved and to make a donation. For the sake of children just like Charles and the lives that can be transformed beyond recognition, please don’t leave this to someone else.

 

I don’t want to even imagine a future without bibic, where there is no gift of hope.

 

Thank you for reading this and I hiope that you can help. 

Barbara Scruton

Charles’s Grandmother and bibic Trustee

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