Isla Smith, aged 6, has Dravet Syndrome. This is a rare, catastrophic, lifelong form of epilepsy that begins in the first year of life with frequent and/or prolonged seizures.

Isla has suffered awful seizures since being 8 weeks old and this has continued throughout her life. She has spent lots of time in and out of hospital and intensive care due to the severity of her seizures. She has development delay and has no speech, she is currently unable to walk and is fed through a tube in her tummy and has a portacath underneath her skin for instant access to a vein to administer emergency drugs in a critical situation.

Isla has a lot of daily medication which has many side effects and makes further development difficult. The family constantly have to carry emergency rescue medication and portable oxygen with them as every passing minute the seizures become more difficult to stop.

Devastatingly in July of this year, Isla suffered a status epileptics and was hospitalised for a number of weeks. Doctors informed the family that Isla had suffered a stroke which has led to further brain damage in her frontal lobes and potentially other areas of her brain – the family are currently waiting for further MRI scans to determine the full damage. Isla currently has limited sight and movement and she is having regular spasms all down her left side. It is likely going to take months, perhaps years, of physiotherapy for Isla to regain some control of her movements.

Health for All (my employer) are keen to continue to fundraise for Isla and her family and have recently helped to secure funds along with her family and other charities for 2 specialised chairs for Isla which will help with posture. These arrived the other day and have made a tremendous difference already to everyone.

To further support Isla and her family – Claire, Jason and sister Ruby – some new but costly specialist equipment have been highlighted which will aid some of her rehabilitation. This includes a specialised watch which will alert Isla's family prior to a seizure, better access to the home and a disabled access vehicle. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you x