Brian House Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and respite for children with life-limiting illness in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. By taking part in the Santa Dash you are helping us to continue to provide this much needed care.
It surprises people when they find out we are sometimes able to discharge children who no longer need our expert care. It means an incredible child or young person is able to manage the symptoms of their condition without us – giving us the chance to throw a special goodbye party, celebrating their strength and determination.
That’s exactly what we were able to do for Emily.
Emily truly is one of a kind.
Full of life and happiness, she is living with a condition doctors can’t name. Out of 100,000 children with rare diseases, her chromosomes don’t match a single one.
She has defied doctors since she was just four months old and she’s been a regular visitor to Brian House.
Over seven years, Emily has enjoyed day visits and overnight stays, enjoying days that were full of fun – making friends and creating memories to last a lifetime.
“When Emily was at Brian House, I got the chance to recuperate, do the housework or simply have a bath or a shower,” says her mum, Kelly.
“It meant the world to me.”
After operations, physio and many interventions, Emily is now able to eat without a tube. Although she can’t move as much as other children her age, she is doing better than doctors could have predicted.
Kelly said: “Saying goodbye to Brian House is very bittersweet. It’s great that she’s now well enough to not need hospice care, but she’s had such wonderful experiences and made such good friends, it’s a place we’ll truly miss.”
