Help Xanthe Carter to get walking!

Thank you visiting Xanthe's just giving page! Its difficult to write about her concisely and give you a full history so you feel that you know who you are donating towards, so you can either watch her video on youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE0ofUlMeBg&t=8s or read the spiel below!

Xanthe is now 11 years old, but when she was just 9 months old she contracted pneumococcal meningitis and suffered a major stroke as a result of it. She was critically ill and spent 3 weeks in intensive care on a life support machine, but in typical style, she battled through and is now having to manage and cope with the devastating after effects of her illness.

Xanthe is hemiplegic (weakness down her right side due to stroke damage) and walks with a stick, or kaye walker (see photo's). She travelled to St Louis, USA, in October 2016, for specialist surgery to her heel cords and hamstring muscles, which were very tight due to her stroke damage.

Amazingly, starting to talk now despite the brain damage that she sustained after the meningitis. Xanthe has proved that she is a true fighter , and is making amazing progress due to all the 1:1 therapy sessions that she is having, all of which are funded by your very kind and generous donations.

As a result of her illness, Xanthe has global development delay which means that she is very behind in her learning compared to her peer group.Unfortunately she also developed chronic epilepsy which has been a nightmare for her and us all. Drugs haven't been able to manage these, and no amount of therapy can change the onset and changes in her seizures. She has these every few hours, every day, and every night. Life can be very tough for Xanthe as a result.

Xanthe's epilepsy makes learning that much harder for her which means that it takes longer and she needs as much 1:1 support as we can give her. It is heartbreaking to watch them.

Everything that is fund-raised for Xanthe goes towards 1:1 Physiotherapy, Conductive Education and Speech and Language therapy; and equipment that the NHS won't fund. Xanthe only gets 2 hours of therapy per term from NHS therapists due funding cuts, so 1:1 private therapy is the only way for her to really progress.

We are so grateful that you have taken time to read about our fighter of a daughter, who we are determined should be able to access as much of the day to day activities that her friends do.

Whatever you can donate is fantastic, but as always, the more noughts, the more we can do for and with her and the less we have to ask!

With huge thanks,

Hugo and Jessie Carter (Daddy and Mummy!)

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.