Family Fund – Erin and Emma’s story

Two-year-old Erin lives in the North East with her parents and her little sister.

Her mum, Emma, said “Erin is such a sweetheart. She’s like any other little girl really, but she has a lot of complex needs on top of that.”

“Erin has CHARGE syndrome, which is a genetic condition that can affect various parts of the body.

“With Erin, it’s mainly respiratory; she has a tracheostomy and is on oxygen 24/7 because of it, she’s tube fed as she’s unable to swallow, and is developmentally delayed.

“It can be challenging for us as parents and as a family, as she needs round the clock care. She certainly keeps me busy, but we try to make sure we have time for fun, too.

“Erin is tube fed and on a blended diet. However, the blender we had wouldn’t always blend smooth enough and our dietician worried that food may get stuck in her tube.

“We applied to Family Fund for a special type of blender, which apparently ‘can blend a brick’! I was a bit nervous about applying at first, but it was totally fine, the process was very straightforward.”

“With the specialist blender, I can cook and blend Erin’s food in batches and freeze it which saves me loads of time and means I get to spend more time with Erin and her sister.

It’s a fab bit of kit, I absolutely love it –-it seems a bit sad to get excited over something like a blender but it has really made a world of difference to us!”

Get in touch

If you are a veteran and are in need of support, a range of help and information is available from all our Veterans’ Gateway referral partners.

Call 0808 802 1212 or text 81212