A good night's sleep for Brody

Brody has no awareness of danger and often injures himself

Five-year-old Brody McAteer from Bonnybridge has no awareness of danger and injures himself by banging his head against the side of his bed or falls out of it.

Safety for her beloved boy is a constant worry for mum Laura Rutherford as Brody also suffers from epileptic seizures, Autism Spectrum Disorder, hypermobility – his joints move beyond the normal range – and low muscle tone.

When he is admitted to hospital for his injuries he has to sleep on a mattress on the floor leaving Laura desperate for a solution that prevents Brody from further pain.

Surfing the web she found Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children through a Facebook special needs equipment page, which loaned her emergency equipment it has for safe sleeping.

The charity wanted to give Brody a permanent solution and together with 15 members of staff from Briggs Equipment UK in Cumbernauld who raised £1323 from Glasgow’s Colour Me Rad 5km event in May, provided the rest of the £4564 cost of a new safe bed for the youngster.

Laura said: “It’s brilliant. Brody loves the experience of being enclosed and secure so his sleeping has actually improved. The rest of the family has peace of mind, knowing he is safe at night and can’t hurt himself.

“I would like to thank everyone at Briggs for their support of Newlife. This will make a huge difference to Brody’s long-term safety and provide us with peace of mind at night.”

Donna Anderson, Briggs’ service controller said: “We have adopted Newlife as our charity of the year and it is great to know exactly how our fundraising is being spent.”

Newlife head of operations Stephen Morgan said: “It’s an outrage that families of disabled and terminally ill children have to battle local services for equipment – and yet still face heartbreaking refusals.

“Newlife comes to the rescue; we change, and even save, lives every day through equipment provision. But we can’t do this alone. Please help us to help our disabled and terminally ill children.”

To find out more about how Newlife supports families, go to www.newlifecharity.co.uk/local and click on the County Map.