Meet the Poole's, Ross, Vicky and Evie. Evie is 12 years old, and its been an eventful 12 years for this little family. After Vicky falling pregnant with Evie, Ross was shipped out to Afghanistan and then stationed in Oxford at the time she was born (much mad dashing about). Into the world came beautiful baby Evie, Vicky and Ross knew there was a problem almost instantly, at a couple of weeks they would go to wind her and she would stand completely weight bearing on her legs. At six weeks she got a cold and started having full body convulsions, the local surgery said not worry it was colic. Trying to combat this they tried every colic remedy they could find, changed milk, took every suggestion people gave them. At nine and a half weeks she was so poorly she stopped eating and the doctor came out and called an ambulance. At the Leicester Royal she was diagnosed with reflux, and was told she would be discharged, fortunately the discharging consultant happened to be a neurologist covering paeds that weekend and saw her have a seizure and admitted her. From then on everything changed, she was diagnosed with West syndrome at 10 weeks. A few years later at 3 years old that diagnosis was changed to Lennox Gastaut.

During Evie's short life she's had multiple hospital stays and surgeries including many lumbar punctures, deep tissue biopsies, feeding tubes inserted multiple times, Watson wrap, vagal nerve stimulation surgery, tonsillectomy, countless admissions for respiratory infections. This family have been through the mill but they are amazing. Despite having so much to deal with they are active members of their community, helping, raising money for Rainbows where their daughter attends, helping other families, volunteering and fighting for their daughter.

During lockdown Evie has not been able to access school or Rainbows hydrotherapy pool and its had a significant impact on her physical health. She's lost all of her core muscle integrity causing the speeding up her scoliosis, which has intensified the rotation of the curve of her spine meaning her wheelchair is no longer fit for use and she cannot access her standing frame which helps with her respiratory function and hugely impacts her quality of life.

Having access to hydrotherapy is everything for Evie! I want to help this amazing family by enabling them to get a hot tub they can use all the time in their own garden. It needs to be in a structure as Evie cannot regulate her own body temperature, so I'm asking for support to help a fabulous family who work so hard to support everyone else and never ask for help. Thank you in advance for anything you can spare that helps to get Evie what she needs. xxx