Life For Michael

 Michael Paisley is a very special young boy. A traumatic birth left him with cerebral palsy, frequent fits, cortically blind and needing tube feeding for the rest of his life. Michael, his parents Penny and Chris, and sisters Rebecca (6) and Charlotte (14 months) live in Frimley Green in a picturesque house on a large estate.

'Michael is totally reliant on us for care," explained Penny. 'Inevitably, as he has grown it has become more and more difficult moving him up and down stairs. It was becoming dangerous both for him and us. But with the through floor lift we needed costing around £9,000 we just couldn't afford it.

Penny and Chris approached the local social services for a grant, but were told the lift would take the entire annual budget for the department! And a cheaper stair lift wouldn't be practical as Michael is not self-supporting and so cannot sit in a chair. "It seemed a hopeless situation, " said Penny.

That was when what Penny describes as a "chapter of coincidences" occurred, and she met with The Children With Special Needs Foundation who agreed to help

"Previously Michael had to he held on our laps or lie flat on the floor now he can he strapped into his specially designed chair to be moved up and down and then parked near us."

"The first three days it was such a novelty that Rebecca refused to use the stairs!" remembered Penny. "This has made a huge difference to our lives - and the timing was perfect: Michael had just had a major operation on his hips to help re-align the ball and socket joints and was in plaster with his legs fixed apart for six weeks, I'd had a caesarean with Charlotte, and Rebecca was just starting school!"

Penny says Michael is aware of things around him and responds to familiar voices, but that they don't get many smiles from him any more.

With all the demands of the past seven years Penny and Chris had not had a break away together until the charity, sponsored by Ian and Pamela Hayton, funded a weekend for them to Foxhills Country Club. "Rebecca went to her grandparents. Michael was cared for by one of his attendants at Portesbery School who knows and understands his needs totally and Charlotte, whom I was breast-feeding, came with us! It was wonderful!" she recalled.

So what does the future hold for Michael? Penny explained that his condition would not change, although Michael would clearly continue to grow. He will always need constant care. The next vital project is to build a room behind the garage so that the cumbersome standing frame in which Michael can be strapped upright can be housed. He needs so much specialised equipment which takes up a lot of room, but it is very important for him to be upright as much as possible, " Penny said. "It is hard work but we're a family and we come as a package."