Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

On the 15^th September 2015 Gracie Jardine made
her appearance in to this world, but her world was never going to be like most peoples. Gracie has spastic quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy.

This means Gracie can’t roll over, sit up, crawl or talk and
has no ability to swallow, she also needs to be fed by a pump through a tube inserted in to her intestines 20 hours a day. She also requires constant oral suction to remove any saliva. And to top it all, she has cortical visual impairment, which results in her brain being unable process what she is seeing.

This disability means that Gracie requires 24/7 care,
regular physio, speech and language therapy. It’s a life limiting condition and every day is a constant challenge for Gracie. There are times when Gracie is in pain and only regular medication can ease that. But Gracie is a fighter; her determination to amaze us all with her small mile stones brings great joy to all around her. Like her first smile, a smile so infectious that you can’t help but smile back. That infectious perfect smile is her only means of communicating with the people around her. It lets us know that she is happy and content.

Amanda has given up her day job so that she can be there for
Gracie 24/7 and Fraser spends all his free time away from work helping with Gracie’s care. In many ways they are a normal family, but like everyone else, from time to time they just need a rest.

That’s where CHAS (Children’s Hospice Across Scotland)
come in. They are the only charity that provides respite care for children and young people who have life shortening conditions for which there is no known cure. CHAS runs two children’s hospices, Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch, as well as a home care service called CHAS at home. Their services are funded mainly through supporters who help them raise the vital funds needed to provide these hospice services.

CHAS have the specialist care that Gracie needs, allowing
parents like Fraser and Amanda to have that much needed break knowing that Gracie is receiving the best possible care she can get. That peace of mind allows them to switch off for a short time.

Gracie had her first trip to Rachel House in March and she
can’t wait to go back again. Her parents saw the amazing work that CHAS do for many children with similar life limiting conditions to Gracie and felt the need to give something back to them.

So this October a group of us are setting off to Tanzania in
Africa to climb the worlds’ highest free standing mountain, Kilimanjaro. This 8 day trek to the roof of Africa is considered one of the world’s greatest challenges. In reality it may be a challenge for us, but nothing compared to the challenges that Gracie faces every day. But if this helps Gracie and others like her benefit from the support that CHAS can offer, then it’s the least we can do. So Fraser Jardine, Gavin Turnbull, Douglas Jardine, Ian Young, Michael Turnbull and Blair Paton would like to ask everyone to support us on this challenge by making a donation to our just giving page. Every penny we receive will go to helping CHAS provide this valuable care.

And remember, some of us are fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose the most enjoyable challenges we face in life, others just have life to face.