Story

Our daughter Sofia was born with CMV, a virus that can affect unborn babies in utero. She had multiple disabilities including cerebral palsay, visual impairment, global developmental delay and in her second year of life developed seizures.

Sofia passed away in September 2016 after a long seizure and subsequent sepsis. She spent a long week in ICU in September but had also attended many appointments at the hospital during her life. Sofia fought so hard and we are so proud of her.

Sofia was a little girl that enjoyed life and taught others to do the same! Even though she is no longer with us, her zest and energy for life live on through her family and friends. One of her favourite things to do was play on the swings at the park with her friends. This was however, becoming increasingly difficult for her to do. Like many children with a disability, Sofia couldn't sit up on a swing like other children. It was difficult for her to have nothing to play on during days out and hard for us and her brothers too, especially as Sofia, like many children, loved movement - her giggles and smiles proved that. Seeing her play on a swing with her friends has given us happy memories that we will cherish forever. We would love to help others create memories like these in Sofia's memory.

We would like to start raising money for a special swing to be put into a park in Scotland for all children to be able to use. We feel that parks should be more inclusive for all children, no matter what their ability. We hope to put a few swings into parks across the area. Any additional funds will go towards a future swing project.

We miss Sofia so much, life isn't ever going to be the same. If we can do something to help other children in Sofia's memory, I know she'd be very proud of us all.

Thanks for reading, Sofia's mummy, Fiona x.