Great Grace

Our brave little girl entered the world at just 26 weeks and 6 days, facing her first challenge with a brain bleed. Today at 3 years old, Grace lives with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, cortical visual impairment (registered partially blind) and epilepsy. Despite these complex challenges, she continues to amaze us with her determination to explore and engage with the world around her.

Our Growing Challenges

As Grace grows, our current home is becoming increasingly unsuitable. We urgently need to move somewhere that can be properly adapted with hoists, wider doorways for wheelchairs, specialist beds, and the equipment essential for caring for Grace safely at home as she gets bigger and heavier.

Daily Life Challenges

Grace works so hard every day. She's learning to grasp and release objects, vital skills for feeding herself. Currently, she needs hand-over-hand support for every bite, but with practice and the right adaptive equipment, we believe she can achieve independent feeding.

Her visual impairment creates additional challenges. Unexpected sounds startle her when she can't see their source, triggering distress that requires comfort from trusted adults. She cannot yet communicate her needs verbally, relying on us to interpret her cues and offer choices. While we've learned to understand her signals, others struggle, limiting her world to just a few familiar people.

Professional Support We Need

Grace needs consistent speech therapy to find her voice. She requires physiotherapy to build strength and prevent the long-term effects of high muscle tone. We need professionals who understand visual impairment working together through regular team meetings.

With your support, we can:

- Secure equipment that promotes independence

- Access vital therapies unavailable through the NHS

- Adapt our future home for her complex needs

- Give Grace the tools to communicate with the world

- Help her build relationships beyond her immediate family

Grace deserves to be accepted by her peers, feel comfortable with the adults supporting her, and continue being the happy, healthy little girl who brings joy to everyone she meets. The right equipment, therapies, and support team will make this possible.

Every contribution brings Grace closer to independence and inclusion. Together, we can ensure she has every opportunity to reach her potential and live her fullest life.

Thank you for believing in Grace's future.

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, they will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives. If, in those circumstances, we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child, any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.