This was forwarded to me by a friend of Kate’s. I’ve signed up and if you could spare a moment to read the following, I hope you might too.
Hello lovely friends
I write to ask for your support for a cause that is very close to the Parkinson family’s heart. This email is a little wordy, but please bear with me.
As some of you may know, our younger sister Miriam is severely disabled and suffers from Down’s Syndrome, Brain Damage, Autism and Juvenile Arthritis. This means that she needs 24/7 care which my incredible parents offer her, without a second thought for their own lives or aspirations.
Digby Court in Dorchester is a respite centre for severely disabled children which offers the children and parents of similar families to our own a chance to have a little rest. Miriam, at 14 years old, is given the opportunity to have a sleepover and an adventure for the weekend with her friends whilst being given the appropriate medical care she needs which includes her wheelchair, daily injections, respiratory assistance and medication. As for my parents, they have the opportunity to sleep! Miriam rarely sleeps through the night and so we often find Dad snoozing in his cereal having had a Barney the Dinosaur movie marathon from 2am in the morning.
Sadly, due to cuts in the NHS this unique institution in Dorset is being shut down as of 30 September this year, with no realistic alternative being offered. A friend of the family, who has taken part in a pilot of the ‘shared help’ scheme to replace the respite centre, has had nearly 80 miles to travel from Bridport in West Dorset to Winchester in Hampshire for a family of volunteers to look after their child. Although we are so grateful to the incredible volunteers who offer their time and their homes to look after these children, these volunteers unfortunately do not necessarily have medical training and so are unable to fully look after the most disabled children in Dorset. This teamed with the long and expensive travelling involved, means that a parent or carer needs to stay in the vicinity of the volunteer family, therefore undermining the intention for respite.
So I write to you in the hope that you can sign the petition below and help in our efforts to keep the respite centre open. It offers a small amount of breathing space to parents and carers who otherwise work unnoticed and unappreciated by the Government and Council and who save the economy so much money every year by giving up their jobs to become full time carers. They are now left fighting, during their already busy lives, for something which they really do deserve. The strain on their lives is something few know about, but now is the time to speak up and save Digby Court. Not to blow my parents’ trumpet too much, but they have already spent their lives serving others, as a Nurse and a Royal Marine Commando, and this centre is a lifeline for them, Miriam, and so many others like them.
Sign the Petition herePlease forward this email to anyone who you think would be interested in supporting our cause (friends, family, colleagues, anyone!) and we would be so grateful for any other help you, or anyone you know could offer. We would love to get as much media coverage as possible and would be so appreciative for any endorsements from local or national businesses, celebrities or whatever you can think of!
Little Parki needs our help, let’s try and save her respite centre!
Lots of love to all,
and thank you,
Kate x