The family of local Berkshire boy Sebastian Mawbey are backing the launch of an appeal to provide specialist equipment for children with disabilities in the county. Sebastian’s mum is so grateful for the high tech powered wheelchair which means her three-year-old son can take a more active part in family life that she is urging local people to help change the lives of other local children. Right now, there are four children with disabilities or a terminal illness in Berkshire who need your help to get the specialist equipment that will really change their lives. That’s why leading UK children’s disability charity Newlife Foundation is launching the Newlife Berkshire Fund - www.newlifecharity.co.uk/berkshire. It is an opportunity for local people to help local disabled children and every penny donated or fundraised in Berkshire is guaranteed to support vulnerable families in the county. Special disability equipment including wheelchairs, walkers, beds, seating and communication aids can help give children independence, keep them safe, relieve pain and overcome challenges. For instance, you could help a child be discharged from hospital, take their first steps or kick a football with their friends. . . . You can help Newlife help more children like Sebastian (full story below). Together we can really change the lives of children with disability and terminal illness – supporting them to experience and enjoy life and all that we take for granted. Newlife has already helped 114 children in Berkshire through equipment grants and loans totalling more than £243,012, so we know there is a very real need for a specific county fund. In this way we aim to help more children, more quickly. Statutory services in Berkshire often have a responsibility to make equipment provision – but when help is declined, Newlife steps in. The charity challenges many such decisions and has an impressive success rate. However, where we are unable to overturn these decisions, we provide the equipment ourselves through our range of grant and loan services. We do this with the support of front-line health professionals across Berkshire who have helped Newlife help local children in real need. The Newlife Berkshire Fund will support equipment provision for under-19s facing any significant disability, whether acquired through birth defect, prematurity, accident or illness. Vitally, the Newlife Berkshire Fund website – www.newlifecharity.co.uk/berkshire – will enable local people to find out who needs help in their county right now and highlight the support the charity gives vulnerable families. It includes contact details for the Newlife County Liaison Team – tel no 01543 431 444 or email local@newlifecharity.co.uk – and shows specific ways people can help support children with disability and terminal illness and their families. Two young friends are enjoying more independence, thanks to hi-tech powered wheelchairs. Three-year-olds Sebastian Mawbey and Indi Atkinson have different disability needs – but both are now able to take a more active part in family life. Sebastian, from Windsor in Berkshire, has a condition which prevents signals from his brain reaching his muscles, so has limited mobility. Now, when Sebastian’s five-year-old brother is out on his bike, he can join in the fun. And the all-terrain wheels mean the wheelchair works well on pavements, gravel and grass so he can be in charge of his own mobility during family walks and outings to the park. Sebastian’s mum Victoria Mawbey said: “Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital advised that a powered wheelchair would be best for Sebastian because he doesn’t have the muscle strength to propel a manual model. He is a very bright little boy and gets frustrated by his lack of mobility. However, our local statutory services will only provide manual wheelchairs for the under-fives so we approached Newlife for help.” Indi, who lives in nearby Wraysbury in Middlesex, has Spina Bifida and consequently no movement or sensation in her lower limbs. Mum Rosaline Atkinson said: “Our statutory services will only provide buggies for the under-fives so I got a small indoor manual wheelchair for Indi. Unfortunately, she soon outgrew this so I contacted Newlife and was given an Equipment Grant for £6,175 for a powered replacement. “The new equipment is great because it has given Indi – and her two brothers – access to a lot of things we weren’t able to do without the powered wheelchair. Simple things like going to the park or for a walk in the local forest. Another bonus is you don’t need a WAV (wheelchair adapted vehicle) to transport it around, because it will fit in a normal car.” She added: “The powered wheelchair has given the whole family greater freedom. And, looking ahead to starting school, it will mean Indi will be able to keep up with her classmates and make the most of class activities.”

• published: 04 Mar 2015
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