Welcome to your new look newsletter

Family to mark anniversary with
fundraising event
Back in February 2009 the Stones family were
celebrating the birth of the latest addition to their
family – William. Like all babies, the new arrival
was to change the lives of his family forever. And it
also began a journey that they never imagined.
At a little over a year old, the normally happy-golucky
baby developed breathing complications and
was taken into hospital. It then became clear that
he was seriously ill. He suffered a cardiac arrest and
due to a lack of oxygen and blood flow to his brain
became very ill and suffered brain injury.
“He was in hospital for six months and lost his
ability to do almost everything,” explained dad
Dave. “It was unclear whether he could see or hear.
He couldn’t feed and relied on a tube through his
nose and he had no movement. Nothing.”
“From then we would dive deep into an unknown world: the
world of disability and a harsh realisation that the things in
life that you thought actually mattered, such as materialistic
things, actually didn’t matter at all.”
Their lives were turned upside down as William
underwent a series of therapies before being diagnosed
with Athetoid Cerebal Palsy. Then things took a turn for
the worse and William had to undergo major heart
surgery. Thankfully the surgery was a success and the now two-anda-half–year-old
is progressing well.
Added Dave: “William is now home and through dedication and hard
work from his mum, Julie, he is such a joy to be with. He’s
now got all his sight back, can crawl, stands up and is
doing so well, he’s the same smiley little boy we nearly
lost so many times during the early days.”
To celebrate the anniversary of William’s recovery, the
family have organised a race night that will help raise
awareness of William’s condition and help fund his
continued treatments. The fundraising event will take place
on 9th September in Leeds, which is where Dave’s place of
business is. However, transport will be provided from the local
area as many family and friends live in Shireoaks.
For further information about the event or to support the appeal check out www.williamstonestrustfund.com
10
Shireoaks Newsletter - “Reaching the Community”