This is our beautiful daughter Poppy.

Poppy was born in 2010 and suffered severe brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen supply to the brain during her traumatic birth. As a result of this, our little girl is severely disabled.

She is registered blind, epileptic, learning disability and has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, needing full trunk support, and her condition is classed as life limiting.  Cerebral palsy affects 1 in 400 live births in the UK, however Poppy is at the most severe end of the spectrum.

To date Poppy continues to impress doctors with her progress, it was originally thought that due to the extensive brain damage she incurred during birth, she might be in a persistent coma. Poppy has overcome massive hurdles, shows alertness and is responsive to her environment.

Our little girl will, however, face further difficulties as she grows, including stiff muscle tone in both her arms and legs, making normal movements difficult and painful. Her head and trunk stability are poor at present, and do not allow her to sit independently or raise her head fully when lying on her stomach.

Despite this, Poppy enjoys different sensory experiences and we try and make every day count for her. She has even been surfing, an experience she just loved! Poppy is able to smile when she is happy and has even started to giggle on occasions, but she is unable to speak or communicate through signing due to her condition. She is currently trialling eye gazing equipment as a means to communicate at school.

We are fundraising for specialist equipment and therapies that will give Poppy the best opportunity to maximise her potential and improve her quality of life. We have a real chance to make a difference to Poppy’s functional outcome, but needs access to the right interventions and equipment.

Poppy is now 10 and will be starting secondary school this year. 

She has been trialling eye gaze equipment as a way to communicate which has been going really well and is continuing at school too. We really want Poppy to have her own equipment so she can practice daily so she can maximise her ability to communicate in the future. 

The first item we are fundraising for are:

•Smart Box Grid 12 - Eye Gaze Computer. Eye gaze is a communication tool that tracks your eye movements to allow you to play games, construct stock sentences and talk. Stephen Hawkins used something similar to communicate. 

This equipment (Computer, software, cameras, stand and on going updates) costs - £8,850.00

Have access to this vital piece of equipment will mean more than words can say and it will give Poppy a voice and the chance to be able to communicate.

Follow Poppy's story on Instagram @beautifulmisspandme to follow our journey.

If we do raise more than what we need we will put the remaining towards another piece of specialist equipment she may require or towards her physiotherapy programme which is essential to keeping her joints mobile and helping with pain control.

Tree of Hope reserves to use these funds for any purpose stated in
the parents charter, including but not limited to, medical treatment, surgery and therapies and related travel expenses, medical and exercise equipment, childcare, home adaptations and the cost of vehicles designed for the disabled.