Our youngest son, George, was born on 15th April 2017. Soon after, he was rushed into the NICU and stopped breathing several times on that first day. He was given support and care, and after two long weeks, we brought him home to meet his big brothers. Once he was home, we had issues with feeding George and noticed he was quite floppy compared to his brothers. He was not meeting milestones, and we were unsure if he was able to see.

Fast forward a few months, George underwent open heart surgery at GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital) at 5 months old to repair a hole in his heart. He made a fantastic recovery, but after this, he became dependent on a tube to feed him via his nose. It wasn’t until just after his first birthday that we received George’s diagnosis of Kabuki Syndrome. Everything made sense—his low muscle tone, cleft palate, tube feeding, visual impairment, heart defect, developmental delay, plus many other things.

Since his diagnosis, we have been trying to expose George to lots of therapies that will aid his development. Just after the second lockdown in April 2021, George began horse riding at the fantastic RDA Chigwell. He thoroughly enjoys these sessions, which help strengthen his core, improve his balance, and encourage communication. Riding ‘Buster’ is one of George’s highlights of his week. We would love to be able to commit to funding these sessions long-term. If we have enough funds, we would also like to pay for private music therapy sessions, as most people will know, George comes alive with music.

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