Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Well Steve's 10th birthday has been and gone. His headstone has been put in place hard to believe its nearly 6 months since he died. A big thank you to all who have donated and a plea to keep giving every little helps, be it on here or a charity box. There are still plenty of kids and parents who need the support of the hospice.
I am aware that people have become involved in fundraising for the Hospice separately so thank you it all goes to the same place in the end. I want to say a very special thank you to the members of the Stars of Darts forum who have not only been extremely generous with their donations but also held a Darts tournament in Stephens name and raised a fantastic sum of money.
Stephen was such a generous child as shown by his persistence in making me adopt a panda and making his Nana give money to the starving children in Africa. he would be delighted to learn that he has made such an impact and raised so much money for the Hospice that he loved so much.
Sadly Stephen lost his battle with cancer on the 12th June 2011, and I don't use the word battle lightly. He fought like a brave warrior and in the final week no one could work out what was keeping him going. In the end it was reassurance that his family would be ok that allowed him to slip away. Angela from the hospice was with us in final few hours and she dealt with baby Adam allowing Nick and I to be with Stephen as he passed away. After she dealt with all the doctors arrangements, washed and dressed Stephen and contacted the people who needed contacted.
The morning that he passed Gayle from the hospice and I sat and told stories about the mischief that Stephen got up to. It was fantastic having someone with him that knew him and was able to share stories. It helped me and Stephen smiled as we talked although he couldn't move or talk. During the week when Stephen was being unresponsive, I told him Gayle had arrived and he waved which is testament to how much he thought of her. Even after the Girls came out to see him and to make sure we were ok. They are fantastic people and fantastic people can't just switch the caring off even when they aren't working.
In the hospice each child has an individual carer who looks after them all day, from tending to his needs with medication, personal care, to running and getting him drinks, KFC and building lego. there are nurses on hand and Dr's checking up on them on a regular basis. There is also a complimentary therapist, music therapist, pet therapy a multi-sensory room, swimming pool, hydrobath all fully equipt to deal with children of all levels of disability.
There are 10 bedrooms each with TV's and access to a beautiful garden. The whole place is not only wheelchair accessible but also bed accessible. Unfortunately at the minute they can only take care of 5 or 6 children due to lack of funding.
Please Please Please give generously the Children's hospice is one of those places that is greatly appreciated by the people who need it but widely unknown to the people who don't.
