On the Charity page of this website you can read the story of Daisy who is the Granddaughter of W.Bro Barry Wiles. Our Lodge,with help from the Provincial Almoner W.Bro Eddie Halpin obtained funding to help the family obtain the required equipment and alterations to the home to enable Daisy to live at home after many many weeks in various hospitals.
Below you can read an extract of an emailed update on how the help given by the MCF has transformed the lives of Daisy and her family......
'Daisy is now nearly 5 and truly thriving with a character and determination that shocks many professionals when they meet her after seeing her disabilities on paper. Since being home she has been diagnosed with a rare genetic channelopathy that causes severe seizures that have landed us in Great Ormond Street a few times, this isn’t our diagnosis but does account for a number of issues she has.
She is able to take independent steps - something we were told would likely never happen, she gets around the house on her bottom and even climbs onto the sofa! She eats and drinks orally for snacks - again, something we were told she would never do. She is dependent on a feeding peg for the majority of her nutrition but it’s something that we can aim for when she is big enough to trial without.
We have been blessed to have had the support from the Provence on may occasions as well as local Masonic lodges and also the Masonic charitable foundation.
The first item we received was seat that enabled Daisy to join us at the table for meal times and play, we also received an Upsee Walker harness which we truly believe gave Daisy the motivation to want to walk - you could see her processing that one foot goes in front of the other. Also a suction unit that allowed us to take daisy out in her pushchair and give life saving airway clearance, these devices from the NHS are big and bulky and as quoted ‘the CCG do not provide portable equipment’ so these items are ideal for home life but not outdoors.
The MCF funded a massive project to transform the front of our home to allow us to get daisy in and out safely. The lift installer was the largest this company has done in a residential property so that shows how big of a project this was. Not only did we receive funding for an agreed amount but also additional funding when we ran into trouble with structural engineers reports. I hear you are a not too distant neighbour so you may have driven past our home and seen our impressive lift!
Barry has probably mentioned that we are in the process of having plans drawn up for a downstairs room and bathroom for Daisy to ensure we future proof our home for when she is older, I’ve attached the plans for you to have a look at'.
You can see from the images below just how far Daisy has progressed. Well done to all who have helped in her journey!
