Martha Enjoys her 13th Birthday

Martha enjoyed having a small family birthday party to celebrate turning thirteen years old. Martha enjoyed opening some presents before everyone sang Happy Birthday followed by eating some yummy birthday cake.

Martha enjoying her birthday

Martha then went to the matinee performance of the Quince Players pantomime Sleeping Beauty. Martha really enjoyed all the songs and dances. The Quince Players are continuing to very kindly supporting Martha's Magic Steps and we would like to thank them for everything they do for Martha and her family.

Pete Completes the Spartan Trifecta for Martha

Our family friend, Pete, decided to take on the Spartan Trifecta to raise money towards an electric wheelchair for Martha. The Spartan Trifecta is a super tough and gruelling 44km (marathon) obstacle challenge spread over 2 days: The Spartan Beast 22km obstacle course on day one and the Spartan Super 16km and Spartan Super 6km on day two.

Pete at the end of the Spartan Beast

We are so grateful to Pete for taking on the challenge and raising over £3000 towards Martha's wheelchair. What a superstar!

Martha Enjoys Meeting Santa at SAT Christmas Party

Martha and family had a great time at the Sebastian's Action Trust Christmas party. There were lots of fun things to do and lots of yummy food. Martha particularly enjoyed feeding the reindeer, playing with the snow in a wheelchair accessible Snow Globe, dancing at the disco and meeting Santa. We're very grateful to all the staff and volunteers at Sebastian's Action Trust for making us feel so welcome and looking after us all so well.

Martha meeting Santa

Martha, Orla and Mummy enjoying the Snow Globe

Martha’s EHCP Tribunal

Martha’s transition to the new EHCP hasn’t gone as well as we’d hoped. As well as large gaps in the provision Martha needs (such as 1-2-1 support at all times) we were also concerned that the local authority school could not meet Martha’s multiple and complex needs. Having tried to resolve this for many months Martha’s case ended up going to a tribunal held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The outcome of this was that while the EHCP is now a lot more specific about what Martha needs in terms of input and support requirements, the judge on the day felt that the local authority school could meet Martha’s needs so has ruled that Martha should start at Manor Green for her secondary education in September. While we still have significant concerns about the schools ability to fully meet Martha’s needs we now have no option but to see how things go. We will continue to monitor the progress of the school to meet Martha’s needs and highlight any issues.

Martha has fun at Disneyland Paris on a Family Holiday

Martha enjoyed a few days away over the summer holidays with her family at Disneyland in Paris. Travelling via the Eurotunnel in her specially adapted wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) Martha and her family drove to the Disneyland resort on the outskirts of Paris.  

Safely Arrived at the Disneyland Parc in Paris

Staying on resort made life much easier as we could walk from the accommodation to the attractions and Martha really enjoyed mealtimes trying all the different foods on offer. 

Martha having Fun in the Sun

Martha’s favourite ride while at the Disneyland Parc was “It’s a Small World”. Martha loved this ride and the music. At home Martha has a doll that plays the song and Martha was so excited to be in the park enjoying the ride.

Martha at It's a Small World ride

Martha’s 11th Birthday Celebrations and Panto Visit

Martha turned eleven years old on 16^th January and we celebrated in the usual way with a family gathering before a trip to see the Quince Players annual pantomime, this year Little Tommy Tucker. 

Martha with her Birthday Cake

Everyone had a lovely time and as both Mummy, Daddy and sister Orla were all involved in the production it really was a family affair.

Happy Christmas from Martha

Martha celebrated Christmas 2017 at home with her family and her Grandad (Golf) and Nana came to visit.

Martha Wearing her Christmas Jumper

Martha had a lovely time opening all her presents and she particularly enjoyed tucking into her favourite food for Christmas lunch. 

Martha Opening some Presents

Martha with Mummy, Orla, Nana and Grandad Golf.

Merry Christmas from Martha to all of her family, friends and supporters.

Martha In Hospital with Pneumonia

Martha had been suffering from a cold that turned into a chest infection. After several weeks of antibiotics Martha was rushed into hospital overnight on Wed 25^th Oct where she was eventually diagnosed with pneumonia. 

Martha in Frimley Park Hospital

Martha ended up staying in Frimley Park hospital for 5 days while they worked to bring the pneumonia under control. We are very thankful to all of the staff at the hospital for taking such good care of Martha. After a couple more weeks of convalescence Martha thankfully returned to full strength. 

Martha’s Grandad Pat Sadly Passes Away

We are very sad to report that Martha’s beloved grandad Pat passed away peacefully in his sleep on 2^nd Oct. Grandad Pat was Martha’s biggest supporter and did everything he could to help her. 

Martha with her Grandad Pat

While his passing was a big shock for the family it will be, in time, comforting to know that Grandad Pat led a full and happy life and he was still active and enjoying life until the end. Martha and her sister Orla will miss their grandad very much.

Martha’s Innowalk Arrives

We are very excited to say that the Innowalk from Vida Global finally arrived in mid-August. Martha

started to use this piece of specialist equipment, shipped from Norway, to start a daily exercise programme to strengthen her core muscles and stretch/stretch her arms and her legs. 

Martha Trialling the Innowalk

Martha uses the machine for 30-40 minutes at a time and not only is it great for exercising/toning muscles but it’s also amazing for cardiovascular exercise – something that Martha has had very little up to now. Martha loves being in the machine and we have high hopes that this will be another positive step in our aim to help Martha be as independently mobile as possible.

Martha Orders her Very Own Innowalk

In our quest for equipment to help with her on-going rehabilitation and daily physiotherapy, we were asked by Vida Global to trial a new piece of equipment called the Innowalk at a therapy conference in November. The device was designed in Norway and is commonly used by children there with disabilities as part of their daily physio routine. The Innowalk looks rather like a Cross Trainer but has a built in motor which provides assisted, guided and repetitive movement for the user in an upright, weight-bearing position. The movement of the legs in the Innowalk is similar to normal gait and it allows flexion and extension of the hip, knee and ankle joints. 

Martha walking in the Innowalk at the conference

Martha did incredibly well during the trial session and the physiotherapists at the conference were all blown away by how well she tolerated the movement. After just 12 minutes in the device, Martha’s usually tight ankle joints were flexible and the therapists all agreed that the equipment would be beneficial for Martha.

Together with our recent fundraising efforts, Martha's savings and very welcome donations by Ascot Round Table and Ascot Tangent, we were still only half way to our goal of raising £21,000 for the equipment by Easter. However, after a recent visit by the Sunninghill Trust we were absolutely delighted to hear that they had agreed to make up the funding difference by granting Martha £11,000. This is amazing news and we are so grateful to everyone who has helped us to reach our target even more quickly than we'd imagined.

The Innowalk is now on order and we hope to share more exciting news of it's arrival and Martha's progress in due course.  

Martha Goes on an Easter Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Martha was delighted to be chosen as one of the five "VIP" children to be taken by the Southampton based group 201 on the HCPT Easter pilgrimage to Lourdes in the South of France. Martha went with a fantastic group of people who support the group, along with a number of specially chosen young volunteers from local schools.

Martha wearing her Group 201 sweatshirt and hat at the airport

Martha went on Easter Saturday for a week of exciting activities as well as seeing the sights of Lourdes and attending church services and visiting the grotto.

Martha on the land train taking in the sights of Lourdes

The group also took a coach trip to Gavarnie in the Pyrenees.

Martha enjoying her trip to the mountains

We'd like to thank everyone involved in HCPT Group 201 for making Martha's first trip away from her parents such a fantastic adventure. We'd specially like to thank Carla, Cat, Molly and Roisin for taking such good care of Martha.

Martha First Footsteps Session of 2017

Martha attended her first Footsteps Centre sessions of 2017 in Oxford just before Easter. Martha successfully completed a programme of 2 hours of intensive physiotherapy each day for a three week period in the run up to Easter.

Martha's Certificate for Completing the Course

Martha found the sessions hard going as she still hasn't gained back all of her strength since her hip surgery in June 2016. Despite this Martha worked hard and we could see an improvement from the previous set in November 2016. The therapy, using the "Spider" equipment is very beneficial for Martha to promote the ability to weight bear and take steps. The costs of sending Martha to the Footsteps Centre is all funded privately as the NHS is unable to provide this type of intensive therapy for Martha and children like her.

Martha's Magic Quiz 2017

Martha's aunties, cousins and other family members again worked hard to put together a quiz night in March to raise money for Martha's on going needs.

2017 Quiz Night in Full Swing

The evening was a great success and approx 140 people had a super fun evening while supporting our beautiful girl.

We'd like to specially thank Kirsty, Gemma, Sharon and Trish for once again pulling out all the stops to support Martha, We really appreciate all your hard work and Martha benefits greatly from your efforts. 

Martha Continues to Make Progress from her Hip Surgery

In June 2016 Martha underwent major hip reconstruction surgery. It has taken many months of hard work for Martha to recover from the operation but at a recent visit to see her orthopaedic consultant he was pleased that Martha was making good progress and she has now started being able to bear some weight in "free standing". Martha still has a long way to go to get back to full pre-op strength but we hope over time that she will be able to help with transfers and take some steps with support.

In our quest for equipment to help with her rehabilitation and daily physiotherapy, we were asked by Vida Global to trial a new piece of equipment called the Innowalk at a therapy conference in November. The device was designed in Norway and is commonly used by children there with disabilities as part of their daily physio routine. The Innowalk looks rather like a Cross Trainer but has a built in motor which provides assisted, guided and repetitive movement for the user in an upright, weight-bearing position. The movement of the legs in the Innowalk is similar to normal gait and it allows flexion and extension of the hip, knee and ankle joints. 

Martha walking in the Innowalk at the conference

Martha did incredibly well during the trial session and the physiotherapists at the conference were all blown away by how well she tolerated the movement. After just 12 minutes in the device, Martha’s usually tight ankle joints were flexible and the therapists all agreed that the equipment would be beneficial for Martha.

Having access to a piece of equipment like this would really benefit Martha and her recovery. Martha's family are about to start actively looking at how we can make this possible in the near future.

Martha Turns Ten Years Old

Martha recently celebrated her tenth birthday with family and friends. After having a lovely lunch at home Martha went to see the annual Quince Players pantomine, this year Jack and the Beanstalk.

Martha enjoying her birthday cake

Martha really enjoyed the singing and dancing in the show and was really excited when the cast and audience sang her Happy Birthday...!!!

Martha Enjoys Christmas with her Family

Martha had a lovely Christmas and spent time taking part in a number of activities with family and friends. Martha enjoyed a bowling trip, going to see the latest Disney film Moana and also attending the South Hill Park pantomime Cinderella for the first time.

Martha and Orla having fun together in their Christmas jumpers

Martha Has Fun at Christmas Parties

Martha and her family were lucky enough to be invited to two Christmas parties by two local charities. Martha really enjoyed the Peapods traditional Christmas party with games and crafts, a lovely buffet lunch and a visit from Father Christmas bringing presents for all of the children. Martha also had a lot of fun at the Sebastian's Action Trust Harry Potter themed Christmas party. Martha had some lovely food, took part in a potions lesson to make slime and enjoyed meeting Dumbledore and his friends who were giving presents to all of the children.

Martha and Orla having fun at Hogwarts

Dumbledore giving out Christmas presents

Martha and her family continue to be very grateful to Peapods and Sebastian's Action Trust for their continued support of many local families.

Martha has Life Changing Hip Surgery

Martha underwent bilateral femoral and pelvic osteotomies at the John Radcliffe Children's Hospital on Monday 13th June. The operation took two surgeons working simultaneously nearly six hours to complete. During this time they cut the head from both of Martha's femurs and repositioned the ball joint at the correct angle, cutting away approx. 1.5cm of bone from each femur. The right hip socket was then opened up and reconstructed using the bone taken from the femur. The ball joints were then relocated into the hip sockets and held together securely with a number of metal plates and pins. These are likely to stay in place but may need to be removed after a year if they cause discomfort. They also performed a tendon release on her right hamstrings which will hopefully help Martha to extend her leg fully.

Martha arriving on the ward after surgery

Martha spent two hours in the recovery area due to her temperature dropping during surgery. Once back on the ward, Martha's pain was managed by a combination of an epidural and intravenous (IV) morphine. She was also on IV fluids, regular paracetamol and her usual epilepsy medication.

The first few days were quite tough for Martha as she'd lost a lot of blood during the surgery and needed a blood transfusion. The morphine based pain relief (both epidural and IV) didn't agree with Martha - it made her very itchy and uncomfortable.

Day 3 with slightly more colour after transfusion

Once Martha was able to come off the epidural and IV medication on day 4 she really turned a corner. The nurses were able to successfully manage Martha's pain medication orally and she seemed so much better being able to finally get into her chair and go to the ward play room for some fresh air. Martha also spent some time with the ward play specialists and even went to the ward class room for a short time.

IV free and enjoying the ward play area

Martha was discharged from the hospital after 6 days and has spent the last few weeks recovering at home. She has had regular visits from the community nurse to change her dressings and from her community physio to see how her legs are recovering (we aren't expecting to start intensive physio until after she has seen her consultant at the beginning of August).

Happy to be welcomed home

Martha and her family would like to thank everyone at the John Radcliffe Children's Hospital who cared for Martha so well during her time with them. We couldn't have asked for anything better and we are really grateful that the NHS is able to provide this sort of life changing operation for children like Martha.

We are very optimistic about the future, with the restrictions of Martha's old hips now gone we have every hope that she will be able to start standing, taking steps and transferring between chairs/equipment in the future.

Easter Fun with “Oliver” at South Hill Park

Martha took advantage of her Easter break to attend a matinee performance of Oliver with her sister and dad at our fantastic local arts centre South Hill Park. Martha’s talented mum, Angela, was in the band for the production - skilfully playing the violin. Martha had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the show. So much so that she “sang along” to most of the musical numbers – this added to Martha’s enjoyment of the show but perhaps not so much for the audience members sitting close to her J

Martha on an Easter trip to Windsor with her mummy, daddy and sister.