Team Elsie's Great Manchester Run 2015 page
Emma Tatton is raising money for Independent Options
Participants: Laura Miller, Michelle Brooks, Lydia Allen, Ruth Lowe, Louise Holt and Nicola Riding
Story
Firstly thank you so much for visiting the fundraising site for Team Elsie!
A great group of friends and I will be running the Manchester 10K on the 10th May 2015 to raise money for a charity in Hazel Grove called Independent Options.
The training has already started and we are all really looking forward to it!
On the 25th May 2012 my little girl, Elsie Mae was born with Downs Syndrome. Although this was a massive shock to us, our lives have been totally changed for the better ever since. She's the most fun, enthusiastic, smiley, clever girl we know!
Her health seemed to be ok for the first few weeks however at 16 weeks old she needed open heart surgery at Alder Hey hospital to repair 2 holes in her heart. As you can imagine this was a very difficult time for our family however Elsie was such a little fighter and we were home on the 5th day after her operation.
A couple of months after Elsie's operation I attended a group at Independent Options in Hazel Grove. It was a special place where I met families that were going through similar things we were going through. It was a place where we could share stories and provide support to each other. I found out that they run groups most days of the week for children with additional needs and their families too. I've been going there every week ever since!
Independent Options provide services to over 600 children and adults with learning difficulties across Stockport. Elsie are I go to a "Sing and Sign" session there every Wednesday morning. Elsie has learnt to sign lots of nursery rhymes using Makaton. She has learnt so many different signs due to attending this group and this helps her communicate with me. She cannot talk yet so without signs she would get frustrated as she can't communicate her needs. She can now sign approximately 50 words!Independent Options almost had to close last year due to lack of funds which would have been a great loss to lots of children and adults across Stockport. It's an amazing charity that's very close to my heart and we'd all be very grateful for any donations to help keep providing these services.
Thanks for reading
Love From Team Elsie x x x x
Emma Tatton, Laura Miller, Michelle Brooks, Lydia Allen, Ruth Lowe, Louise Holt and Nicola Riding
www.independentoptions.org.uk
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.