Mother appeals for help to give disabled daughter once-in-a-lifetime holiday
The mother of a nine-year-old girl with a rare form of epilepsy is appealing for help to give her daughter the holiday of her dreams.
Chloe Bird, from Rotherham, has Dravet syndrome which cannot be controlled by medication. It means she has spent a lot of her childhood in intensive care units.
Chloe has been selected as one of only 25 children from across the UK to go on a holiday to Disneyland in Demember with Caudwell Children, a charity which provides support to disabled children and their families.
Now Chloe's mother Julie wants to raise money to help pay for the holiday.
The holiday, designed to benefit the whole family, will also come as a welcome relief for Julie. Having spent so much time looking after Chloe she was devastated when she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 2014.
Julie has had to go through 18 months of treatment whilst looking after Chloe, with only two brothers and an auntie for support.
To date over 180 families have enjoyed the getaway, but Caudwell Children need to raise more funds to ensure that Chloe, and other children like her, continue to benefit from the experience.
Julie hopes that the charity gets the money that it requires as she wants to show Chloe that, despite her illness and her daughter's disability, it’s still possible to enjoy life.