The First Young Adults Hospice in the South West

Hi, My name is Christian Bandicoot, I'm 34 and live in the South West.

I was born with a rare muscle wasting condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. It means that from birth, I am missing the ingredients needed for my muscles to grow. Despite my challenges, I owe a lot to my condition as it has made me extremely determined and motivated to show the world that no matter what your circumstances are, anything is possible when you put your mind to it. I recently turned 34 and because of my condition I feel that if I am going to do something big that actually makes a difference then it's pretty much now or never as none of my doctors ever thought that I would make it this far and neither did I.

I have setup this page to raise the much needed funds and to create as much awareness as possible for the urgent need for the first ever young adults hospice in the South West to be built.

Thanks to medical advancements in technology, many of us are living well beyond what any of our doctors had expected. This is a great thing but sadly many of us feel that now that we have reached adulthood, it is almost like we have been forgotten about as no one had foreseen that we would make it this far and there are no places for respite for anyone older than 18. I would like to change this and help everyone across the UK have access to somewhere that is fully accessible for respite. Being physically disabled makes it extremely difficult finding accessible holiday destinations as some people require more than wheelchair access like for instance an electric bed to help with positioning and comfort, so to have a young adult hospice would be the best solution for so many people, it is something that all families and carers have been requesting for many years.

I am taking on this challenge and I will be giving it my all to make it a reality.

Below I have a written a bit about my experience with having respite care at the Children’s Hospice Little Bridge House.

From the age of 8 years old, my family and I were one of the first families to be able to stay for respite care at Little Bridge House the Children’s Hospice.

Little Bridge House was the first Children’s Hospice to open in the south west providing respite and bereavement care for families with children who have terminally ill conditions. It is an amazing place which allows families to have time to relax, spend time as a family and not have to focus on the medical care of their child. They have given me so many great memories and the best support that anyone could ask for when times get tough. When I was 16 I sadly lost my older brother Jonny who had the same condition as me. He was always there to help guide me and show me how to stay positive despite our physical limitations, it was extremely hard to deal with when my brother passed away. Sadly 6 months later I lost Kayleigh who passed away from cystic fibrosis. I knew Kayleigh from an early age and we had an instant connection from the moment we met. We parted ways when we both went to different secondary schools until I had the best day of my life when we were reunited at Little Bridge House. I never thought that I would ever be able to cope with losing Jonny and Kayleigh especially in the same year but with the amazing support from the team at Little Bridge House, I was able to deal with my emotions and move forward in their memory.

I really hope that you feel this is a cause that is greatly needed and would be willing to give your support in my journey, at making this a reality and help change so many peoples lives.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Christian

https://www.facebook.com/The-Dont-Forget-Us-Campaign-for-Young-Adults-Respite-Hospice-104284625269964