Steven uses his new specialist computerised equipment
Steven’s story
While still an infant, Steven Carruthers was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebal Palsy. This affects the whole of his body, including facial muscles and body core and severely restricts the use of all four of his limbs. Steven has no speech, problems swallowing and suffers from gag reflux. He very often experiences sudden jerky movements and spasms, mostly in his arms, and involuntary leg scissoring due to muscle tightness when he spends a lot of time in his wheelchair. To avoid this, he chooses to spend the bulk of his day on a giant bean bag in his bedroom. He lives at home with his Mum, Sandra, who is his main carer.
Despite his disabilities, Steven is a happy and extremely intelligent gentleman. His biggest regret has always been his lack of speech. However, he has overcome this by learning how to use a joystick to control his computer using only his toes, enabling him to communicate with his friends and family.
Applying for a grant
Steven’s Family Support worker at Cumbria Cerebal Palsy applied to The Hospital Saturday Fund to assist with funding towards specialised computer equipment for Steven.
At the time of applying, Steven’s computer equipment was old and the engineer had advised him that the parts required were becoming increasing difficult to find. Steven was lost without this equipment and so we helped towards funding new specialist computerised equipment for him. He was absolutely thrilled.
How Steven benefited from the grant
Steven gets an immense amount of pleasure from his new computer equipment, researching articles on science, Photoshop, Paint, keeping up to date with current affairs, watching Netflix movies and via a flight simulator, has been able to fly all over the world in various aircraft! He plays chess on a daily basis, often with up to 8 people at a time, and keeps in touch with friends and family, both close to home and much further afield via social media sites. We were delighted to be able to help Steven.
If you would like to find out more about our grants for individuals, please visit this page: https://hospitalsaturdayfund.org/apply-for-a-grant
#OneDayChangesLives
The Hospital Saturday Fund is a member of the Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO).
What is the ACO?
The Association of Charitable Organisations is the national umbrella body for charities that give grants and welfare support to individuals in need. Founded in 1946, it is a powerful and growing network of over 100 members, all joined by the common goal of offering support to help people in need.
Awareness day – 22nd January 2020
On 22 January 2020, the ACO will be running the ‘One Day Changes Lives’ campaign. On that day, it will be highlighting the work done by its member charities, sharing the stories of people whose lives were turned around thanks to the support they received. The aim is to show how an individual act of support granted by a charity one day can have a huge impact in improving someone’s life. Together, individual acts by ACO charities amount to a colossal positive impact on society.
Please support the ACO by sharing Steven’s story using our share buttons below and adding the hashtag #OneDayChangesLives
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