This brave and determined girl, Tess, is non-verbal and unable to walk or crawl, has little sight and suffers over 20 seizures each day. Yet she seems to manage with such grace. Thanks to the unwavering persistence of her amazing parents Cathy and Leif and the support they work so tirelessly to access, she now has quality of life and is making developmental progress, but there is so much more to come for her.

Tess was born in August 2018, joining her older brother, Teddy (and later to be joined by her little sister Patti) and I remember so well the day I met her in our London office which at the time I shared with Cathy.

At around eight weeks old, she stopped smiling and interacting, became pale and lethargic, struggled to feed, and began losing weight. In November 2018, Tess suffered repeated episodes of stiffening in her arms and legs and was rushed to hospital. After extensive testing, Tess was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms, a rare and severe form of epilepsy, following an EEG that showed a characteristic brain pattern called hypsarrhythmia. Treatment began immediately, but Tess's epilepsy proved resistant to multiple medications and other conventional therapies.

Since those early days, Tess has come on leaps and bounds - albeit never in a straight line. Helping this enormously has been the funds raised for her medical treatment, therapies and equipment through the amazing charity Tree of Hope. These are all things she needs just to be able to go through life - wheelchairs, car seats, physio etc. But quite simply, without this money she would be missing out on the opportunities she needs in order to reach her full potential. By following a biomedical approach, paying for specialist therapy and giving Tess access to the latest neurological treatments, her parents have seen her life turn around.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs. If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If, in those circumstances, we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.