Supporting families who have suffered the loss of a child or have a child living with medical complexities

Supporting families who have suffered the loss of a child or have a child living with medical complexities

Accessibility… a small word but a huge topic. Here at Reuben’s, we believe in a fully accessible world where all children can access the same spaces, services, and holidays. A place where complexly poorly children can play, learn, and enjoy life to the fullest.
All families deserve a space to ‘relax, recharge, remember and rebuild’. Back in August last year Amy’s family went on a fully accessible holiday to Scotland. Here are just a few snippets from Amy’s wonderful mummy Ceri-Ann explaining what it was like:
“After being confined mainly to our house for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, we were excited when we chanced upon an advert for a 3-night trip to Fife, Scotland in a fully accessible accommodation. To me home doesn’t just represent comfort – it represents accessibility. The house has all the equipment we need. So, venturing out brings both excitement but also anxiety for us. I don’t want to look back on Amy’s childhood and think we squandered it doing nothing fun or meaningful.
This was the perfect opportunity – the place had a shower trolley/wet room, hosts, a profile bed… even clever touches such as a breakfast bar at the correct height for a wheelchair user. The best thing was that there was space! Here.. you would not notice our 4 big suitcases, dog crate, medical equipment, wheelchair, travel bed, tube feeding paraphernalia and so on. It was so refreshing. This feels like a holiday. Literal room to breathe.
We went to three parks, all of which had a wheelchair accessible roundabout. Amy’s face lights up when she sees them. One park had a wheelchair swing. I felt quite emotional that we had gone to the park and been able to use not one but TWO things there!
I felt very tired most of the time from lack of sleep and tending to Amy’s various meltdowns. But I felt a lot of pride and excitement for those moments where she connected with us and the world and showed such joy at life.”
Please head to the link below to read Ceri-Ann’s full blog post:
Thank you so much for sharing this story. We can’t wait for you to visit soon our new wing soon! 💙