Anonymous was due for a gift to the value of $500 from their employer and instead chose to have a $500 chq sent to us! Now that’s a beautiful person.

One of our lovely members is offering a set of bed rails free to a good home.

The photo shows the left rail fully folded down and the right one partially folded. They were originally made to fit a single size Engrit hospital bed, but they just attach via clamps so any bed which has horizontal supports that are approximately the same size – 2.5cm wide and 5cm high – would work fine with them.

They are available for pick-up in St Kilda (VIC) just email if you’re interested and we’ll put you in contact with the owner.

Belinda needed a supportive chair that would allow her to sit and eat comfortably at the family table.

Until now, Belinda’s widowed mother either sat her 9 y.o. daughter on her lap during meal times, or held her from the side to keep her balanced on the dining chair while feeding her at the same time… we thought they both deserved better than that and the perfect solution was a Rifton Activity Chair .

It took a little longer to raise the $4,300 needed than we’d hoped, but 7 weeks after launching her appeal we’ve finally done it!

Many thanks to everyone who gave their buck along the way!

A lovely meesage from Bailey’s mum to share with you all…

Thank you so much for my son’s trike you gave him a few months ago. We just got back from a holiday to Merimbula and as a family were able to ride everywhere because Bailey had his special trike. A huge gift.

Bailey’s mum runs Helping Hand Is Here and would also like to let everyone know that Helping Hand is Here is the gateway to disability support and services and if you need any assistance, please visit their facebook page or online disability directory at www.helpinghandishere.com.au.

We love it when we get a thank you letter from the families we help – and we love that we get to share the love with you guys – the people who made it all happen! Take a bow people, take a bow!

This letter was received recently from Alannah’s parents…

Dear Barb, Liat and the IGAB community,

Just a short note to say a huge, heartfelt ‘Thank you’ to all who have made Alannah’s new Medifab ‘Safe Surround Plus’ bed possible. It is with the dedication and hard work of Barb and Liat that IGAB continues to make dreams possible for our families and these beautiful children.

A huge shout out and ‘Thankyou’ to the wider IGAB community for contributing to Alannah’s appeal, sharing the appeal and making this dream possible… even quicker than we could have imagined!

Alannah’s bed has been fantastic for her and she has accepted the change extremely well. She seems very comfortable and secure in the bed and we can rest easy, knowing she is safe and secure for the night. The high-low functions have allowed Alannah some increased independence as she is now able to climb onto the bed herself. As we are also using the bed as her change table, the bed has taken much load off us in having to lift her on to a change table. It has particularly helped me in the post op period of major abdominal and breast reconstructive surgery and the ongoing physical limitations I have as a result of my Breast Cancer diagnosis.

Alannah is sleeping very well at night time in the Safe Surround and this is helping her during the day time as she is trying to adjust to ‘big girl’ routines associated with kinder etc. She is starting to say a few more words now and also starting to take some more food orally too!

Once again, I cannot express our gratitude enough and wish Barb, Liat and the IGAB Community all the very best as the IGAB community continues to grow now and into the future

Kind Regards

Caroline & Chris Kiefer

To me, each year, Mothers Day means a day of being spoilt rotten. Breakfast in bed,  cute gifts from the kids, lots of cuddles and laughs and the most relaxing day on my calendar by far – no housework and no cooking! Perfect.

But this year, as the day gets closer and closer, I can’t help thinking about what Mothers Day is going to be like for some of the mums of the children that we help and I’ve got to say, that thought is really sobering.

Take Belinda’s mum for example. She’s a widow. Belinda has high dependency needs which don’t take a break because it Mothers Day. In their household there will be no breakfast in bed, no cute hand-made gifts from the kids and definately no break from the struggle that is everyday life…

It’s the same story for many of our mums. The separation/divorce rate among families with seriously ill or seriously disabled children hovers at close to 90%.  So mum is left to care for the child largely on her own, on a carers pension that is quite simply not sufficient to cover basic needs let alone specialist aids and equipment.

Let’s look at Jade’s situation. Jade’s mum is battling to raise her four children on her own now – and two of the four have significant disabilities. A rest on Mothers Day? There’s just no such thing.

Thinking about this has got me all fired up to make sure that we can at least deliver some good news for these, and other, mums in time for Mothers Day – just to put a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnels for them.

Today, I’m setting a goal; for me and for everyone that reads this article. We’re going to finish off Jade, Belinda and Zac’s Appeals in time for Mothers Day. I’d like to think that we could finish Harry’s too but the reality is that we’re not going to raise enough for a car in less than two weeks, no matter how hard we try. But the other three are in reach and, with your help, we can make life just that little bit brighter for three very special mums – will you help me?

For Belinda we need $2,815. For Jade we need $7,830. For Zac we need $2,968. That’s a total of $13,613. In 13 days.

To make this happen I need you to give a couple of bucks and then to spread the word. PLEASE. Send a link to this page to everyone in your contact book and post it one your Facebook page. We all take the time to send on jokes, let’s take the time to pass on a message that really deserves to be heard – the message that together we can make a difference for three really special mums. I for one will enjoy my Mothers Day so much more knowing that I’d reached out to three mums that I’d never met but who deserved to feel the love on Mothers Day just as much as I did.

Barb Blashki – Founder