We are raising funds to support adaptations to our home and garden for Evelina, as well as equipment to support her therapy, quality of life and ability to access all aspects of family life that she would otherwise be unable to.

This includes, but is not limited to:

- Supporting the installation of a hydrotherapy pool as well as the surrounding housing and adapted access. Evelina benefits greatly from hydrotherapy to relax her tight muscles and reduce pain.

- Adaptations of the home and garden to allow Evelina to access all areas in her walker and wheelchair

- Patio and landscaping of outside areas to allow Evelina to enjoy outside space.This may include ramping and providing a way to create shade due to Evelina's vision impairment

- Decoration, lighting and equipment in Evelina's spaces appropriate for her age and needs, not just the bare minimum as suggested by the DFG

- Equipment that supports appropriate bathing and hygiene for Evelina for her current need (bathing needs vary with illness, seizures etc)

- Climate control in shared spaces so that Evelina doesn't become confined to her room

- Supporting the installation / building of a physiotherapy space, including the appropriate hoists, equipment such as changing beds and adaptations to make the space accessible for the long term

- Equipment storage to ensure that Evelina is able to access all her equipment whenever she needs to

Why are we fundraising?

Evelina should be in receipt of the Disabled Facilities Grant, and we are going through a process to understand the adaptations to our home that the grant can cover.

Unfortunately, the grant guidelines are written in such a way that gives local authorities a wide discretion which, as you might expect, they use to provide the bare minimum in support of Evelina’s needs now or in the future. This is against the advice of a number of studies and the Royal Society of Occupational Therapists but while we’ve discussed with the local authority over a long period of time, they have no inclination to provide any more than the minimum home and garden access adaptations that they can.

More than the bare minimum

We believe that Evelina deserves more than the bare minimum and we are raising funds to allow us to give her the autonomy and family life that any parent would want their young child to have. Being able to play with her family and friends in all of the garden or home.

While we are contributing considerable amounts to the adaptations ourselves, our funds are limited and it is also important that the rest of the home works for all our family - your support helps us ensure that Evelina is included and supported and we thank you greatly for it.