An Aberdeenshire mum has hailed a north-east children’s hospice charity as “absolutely incredible” for helping her severely disabled daughter feel just like every other little girl.
Jude Schofield from Ellon is the proud mother of four-year-old Maisie, who suffers from a range of debilitating conditions, including problems with her nervous system, epilepsy, delayed body development, restrictions on her movement and difficulties with speech.
Recently, the family have been supported by Charlie House, an Aberdeen-based charity which provides support to extremely ill and dying children all across the north-east of Scotland.
Mrs Schofield said that, given this is Children’s Hospice Week, she wanted to highlight the hard work undertaken by Charlie House in supporting families such as hers across the north of Scotland.
She added: “Life revolves around hospital appointments and different kinds of things for Maisie, and the whole family has to fall into line and sort ourselves around her.
“When people mention that Charlie House is a hospice charity, they think it’s just a place for people to die basically, but it’s such a positive place that does so much for families like mine.
“They have got their Saturday Club once a month, where they do loads of activities in the north-east – tubing, ice skating, all sorts of things with other families of disabled children, which allows us to swap stories, network, and share information.”
Charlie House has even helped the wheelchair-using Maisie, who lives with her mum as well as her dad Steve, older brother Callum, 6, and baby sister Mollie, feel what it’s like to fly through the air
As Mrs Schofield said: “One of the best things they have done for us is pay for a trip to the Kielder Forest Park in Northumberland, which is an adventure place with special facilities for disabled children.
“It was amazing to be somewhere that our daughter wasn’t different. We felt normal, which is very unusual for our family.
“We did heaps of activities. Because Maisie is in a wheelchair, getting her in a zipwire and flying through the air was amazing, it was so good to see her feeling so unrestricted.
“It was as if nothing was beyond her capabilities, and, if it wasn’t for Charlie House, we wouldn’t even have known about the centre, and because they funded the trip as well, we could go – it’s something we could never have been able to do by ourselves.
“I can’t say enough about this organisation.”
Charlie House is currently planning to create a children’s hospice in the north of Scotland for parents in the area, many of whom have to travel hundreds of miles to reach Scotland’s few hospices in the central belt.
To support the charity and donate to Children’s Hospice Week, text “CHHW05 £5” to 70070 to donate £5.
