In August 2020, I was delighted to be asked to become a Parent Carer Champion for Acorns Children's Hospice, a role I have thoroughly enjoyed, supporting and encouraging fundraisers for a wonderful charity and helping promote the incredible work Acorns does for life limited children and their families across the West Midlands.
Our Story
I am an Acorns father. My daughter Milla went to Acorns for the Three Counties in Worcester where we live. Milla was born together with her triplet sister Jewel and Louisa, in April 2006. They were born 16 weeks prematurely. Sadly, Jewel did not live long and passed away after 17 days. Milla and Louisa spent 6 months in hospital, both had operations on their eyes and Louisa had a hole in her heart repaired. They had numerous setbacks, but eventually came home, on oxygen, in October 2006.
After a year or so Milla was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy. She was unable to walk or talk and required feeding through a gastrostomy or stomach tube. However, she smiled constantly and her laugh filled the room. Her twin sister Louisa is blind in one eye, partially sighted in her other and has global developmental delay and attends a wonderful Special Needs Secondary School, Regency high School in Worcester.
Acorns gave my wife and I the chance for a break from the constant 24 hour a day care for Milla and Louisa. Broken sleep, illness, feeding regimes and medicines - all took its toll on our physical, mental and emotional well being. Milla and Louisa initially spent respite stays at the Three Counties Hospice, and eventually only Milla required respire.
To see the happiness of all the children in Acorns, to see Milla smiling and relaxed, being so well cared for by the amazing dedicated staff and volunteers was very important to us. To know she was safe, but happy, cared for and being treated not as a patient, but as a child - having fun, in the sensory room, music room, hydrotherapy pool etc.
In 2016, while we were visiting my wife's family in Indonesia, Milla became very ill very quickly. Within three days she passed away from a sepsis infection. Losing Milla was so unexpected and sudden, our world crashed around us. Returning with Louisa and an empty wheelchair to our home in the UK was extremely traumatic. Milla was buried alongside her Indonesia grandfather.
But Acorns were one of the first to reach out to us. They offered us bereavement counselling and sibling counselling for Louisa. They were there to support us every step of the way. They engraved a beautiful memory stone for Milla which is in the memorial garden at the hospice. We attended a dignified and touching memorial day to remember the children who had sadly passed away during that year. Acorns went above and beyond. Even small things like offering my wife a massage at the hospice made our loss, our grief more bearable. To know there were and still are people that care, even though Milla was no longer with us.
Even before we lost Milla, I had been fundraising for various charities that supported Milla and us. For Acorns, we ran 1 kilometre during the Acorns Triple Run in 2014, pushing Milla around the course in her wheelchair. She loved the event, as did Louisa and we raised over £1,000. I then took part in long distance cycle challenges (Worcester-Bath-Worcester, 207 miles in 2 days), as well as walking 10,000 steps a day in July 2020 and March 2021. In April 2020 I sang and played guitar live on the internet for 12 hours. Louisa has done two events and raised over £3,000 by running 2 miles around Worcester Racecourse (she was unable to walk until she was more than 3 years old and her sight issues cause her balance and confidence problems). She then climbed to the top of Worcestershire Beacon, the highest point of the Malvern Hills. A total of 4 miles walking, the furthest she had ever walked. Together we have raised over £7,000 for Acorns.
Milla
Milla's Memorial Stone,
Acorns for the Three Counties, Worcester
Louisa during her 2 fundraising challenges
Acorns Inspirations
Inspiration is an often used and sometimes overused word. What is inspiration? For me, it is leading by doing. Providing an example for others to follow. Creating the enthusiasm in others to be better people themselves. Whether that is by challenging themselves, overcoming adversity or helping others less fortunate than themselves.
I want to shine a light on the incredible fundraisers who do so much to support Acorns Children's Hospice. These are the true inspirations. people who willingly take on fundraising challenges, from running marathons, cycling vast distances, walking hundreds and hundreds of miles, organising bake and cake sales, coffee mornings, jumping out of planes, walking over hot coals, and any number of wonderful and sometimes very bizarre challenges.
Over the coming months I will be meeting some of these wonderful , unsung heroes, without whom, Acorns would not be able to continue to provide the service they do to life limited children and their families across the West Midlands.
I'll be joining these fundraisers for walks, jogs and cycles ride, sampling their cakes, seeing their fundraising for myself and then sitting down over a cup of tea and a slice of cake for an interview. An interview which I hope will give you an insight as to the reasons why these selfless people give up their time to fundraise for Acorns.
Head to the next post for the first of my Acorns Inspirations interviews. A truly remarkable young man who is an example to us all, no matter how young or old.
Please comment and share andif you would like to get in touch, you can email me at
frobicycles@gmail.com
Best wishes,
Tony Frobisher
Parent Carer Champion
Acorns Children's Hospice
Worcester, UK, June 2021
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| A walk and a smile along the canal |
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