Brothers on Children in Need for Rainbows Hospice
Brothers Sam and Alex were TV stars last night (15th) as they appeared on BBC Children in Need.
The 14-year-old twins, featured on the annual fundraiser to raise awareness of our charity. The teenagers have been receiving care at our hospice since they were three-years-old.
The boys were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a muscle wasting disease, when they were 18-months-old. Although it is now everyday life, nothing prepared mum, Sarah, for receiving the news.
“My boys aren’t just living with spinal muscular atrophy, they’re surviving it,” said Sarah. “They’ll never be able to walk and I can’t change that, but making their lives busy, fun and fulfilled is what is important to me. We have so much fun and the boys have done some wonderful things.”
Sarah cannot praise us enough for the support her family has received. She was delighted her sons were ambassadors for our charity on BBC Children in Need.
It costs over £6 million a year to run our hospice with our dedicated team of specialists and first-class facilities. Since 2008, we have received over £200,000 from BBC Children in Need, which helps us to provide tailored specialist play to children who have life-limiting conditions.
“We were honoured to appear on Children in Need and as ever, I am so proud of my boys.” Said Sarah. “For us, Rainbows is such a fabulous place. I get support and I get respite. And the boys just love it. I thought they would get to an age where they didn’t want to go to Rainbows anymore but their enthusiasm is still as strong, even though they are now young adults. They still look forward to their visits.”
The brothers were relishing the celebrity status, although they are no strangers to TV, having once starred in Eat Well for Less.
Sam said: “I really look forward to going to Rainbows and it’s great to be able to give our mum a break.”
At Rainbows, the boys make the most of our facilities including the hydrotherapy pool, music room and arts and crafts room. They can often be found racing around the corridors in their wheelchairs or not found, if they are playing hide and seek.
Our hospice has provided them with many opportunities including meeting One Direction and David Walliams, who described them as “a pair of comedians”.
Alex added: “I love Rainbows and everyone there is so nice. We have so much fun.”
Jo Sims, Head of Family Support at Rainbows, was thrilled we were featured on the show. “We completely rely on our supporters to help make the hospice the special place it is. To be able to showcase the work we do on such a prestigious platform is wonderful for us. I would like to thank Sam, Alex and Sarah for sharing their story and helping us to support more families.”
To support Rainbows, visit rainbows.co.uk/donate
Watch Sam and Alex on Children in Need here
