Violet's Fund

On the 16th of May 2020, in a tragic motor vehicle accident on the way to visit Family in Tumut, a beautiful, brave little girl, name Violet, lost her Mummy and her Big Sister.

Violet Polkinghorne (age 4) was in the car seat of the vehicle closest to the door that the truck made contact with in this truly horrific accident.

Miraculously Violet survived and was immediately transported by Helicopter to Westmead Children’s Hospital in critical condition. She was later assessed as having significant spinal trauma, and intracranial bleeding.

Her Daddy, Daniel Polkinghorne, was quickly by Violet's side, after having to experience the unthinkable heartbreak of helplessly watching his step-daughter (age 10) pass away shortly after arriving at Westmead. 

Violet’s injuries will impact every facet of her life. She will require enduring, comprehensive physical, intellectual and emotional therapies to support her rehabilitation, and it is sadly still very unclear to what degree of recovery Violet will be able to achieve. 

Violet’s Dad is beyond committed to helping Violet move forward to defy the odds and to giving her the best life possible, despite the unimaginable tragedy and trials she has already faced, and will face as she grows up.

Brave Dad Daniel is a passionate former A.C.T Health Care Worker, with a longer history as a Senior Ward Support Officer, and has also worked in Medical Reception, Radiology Reception, and Phlebotomy. 

He had plans to return to University to complete his Bachelor of Nursing & Health Sciences to further his Medical Career this year. However, this goal, along with his ability to return to Health Care shift work is now on hold, as Violet’s Treating Team have assessed Violet as needing at least 2 years of 24/7 comprehensive "medical level" care and support. 

Thanks to his medical experience Daniel is able to provide care for Violet directly and he is already working tirelessly with Violet’s Specialists to improve the quality of her life.

Daniel is focused not only on the present, he is engaging in research to ensure every possible approach is taken to aid her in regaining her strength, physically, intellectual & emotionally. He is also seeking advice from Childhood Trauma Experts on how best to help Violet in the future given that she is already recognised as having severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in part, as a consequence remaining conscious for over 45 minutes as Emergency Services attempted to remove the Family from the vehicle, as well as witnessing attempts to engage C.P.R on her Mum & Big Sister.  

This will be anything but easy, as Daniel now faces life as a single Dad, while grieving the loss of Violet’s Mum & his Step-Daughter and striving to help Violet in understanding & adjusting to life without her Mum & her Big Sister.

Violet’s home is in Canberra, she knows Canberra’s playgrounds, she remembers her 'Daddy, Daughter dates' in Canberra cafes, and Canberra is where the majority of her extended Family live. So in an effort to provide as much normalcy as possible, when she is considered well enough to be fully discharged, that is where she & Daniel will be returning.

However, after budget cuts within A.C.T Health, in February 2020, Daniel had taken a short term contract off shore on King Island, to enable him to earn a grater wage in order to better support Violet & his step-daughter, while Violet’s Mum was continued to act as a stay-at-home parent in a rental property in Canberra’s north.

This means that in addition to the complexities facing Daniel & Violet, Daniel also has the difficult task of remotely organising a home for he & Violet to return so she is able to settle straight into a permanent environment, which will remove at least one additional aspect of uncertainty in Violet's life.

Daniel is not concerned with his own needs, but wants desperately to ensure Violet is met with an environment that feels homely and familiar so she can feel safe & grounded on her return, something that will be crucial in what is a very daunting & confusing time for such a little girl.

We are hoping that the Community can rally for beautiful Violet by raising funds that will go to supporting her by: 

- Enabling Daniel to meet costs of child friendly interim accommodation in Sydney, when Violet is able to transition to Outpatient care with Westmead

- Assist Daniel to stay home & focus solely on supporting Violet until she is given approval to start Kindy (which we expect may be delayed by a year at least, and likely require modified attendance to avoid fatigue) 

- Find & furnish a home for he & Violet when she is strong enough to return to Canberra. This will include costs of a specialised ongoing Household assessments & relevant aids to support Violet living safely (e.g. adjustable rails throughout the house, safety equipment in the bathroom, and all outdoor areas. *Already confirmed as necessities) while she continues to work on regaining her physical mobility

- Help with costs of Violet’s non-Medicare subsidised appointments & associated medical costs. E.g. Medication, specialised "play therapy" toys

- Help with travel costs to/from interstate Specialists appointments

- Comfortably provide the basics, such as nutritious food, pay for school fees (as Violet will likely need to attend a school with extra/advanced facilities, & good teacher/student ratios to cater for her physical and intellectual needs), school supplies etc

Although I recognise the 'goal' amount here is significant, this is purely because the journey ahead of Daniel as a single Father to a child with increased & ongoing extra support needs, will be both a challenging & expensive one, particularly while he is unable to return to work. 

This money won’t go towards holidays, or frivolities in life. Sadly these are things Daniel does not anticipate Violet being well enough to enjoy for many years.

However, if by some luck Violet beats every one of the odds she is facing, and requires less support as she grows, any residual money not dedicated to her health care, will go into an account for her Tertiary Education.

Monetary donations of any amount are a massive help and will be deeply appreciated by Daniel & Violet. However, if in addition to this anyone has contacts with Businesses that may have the capacity to help with housing, furniture (beds, tables, sofas, white goods, electronics etc), homewares, or even possibly a new car (as Daniel had left his car to his wife (recently seperated), which was destroyed in the crash), any help, or offers of help of this kind would be tremendously appreciated.

In what has been a challenging year for everyone, if you can’t afford to help financially, it would be an enormous help if you could still please share this page with family, friends, your workplace, or any groups/Businesses you think may be able to help.

Together I believe we can go a long way to making this brave little girls future look brighter again.

Thank you for your time and kindness for any donations & sharing this page

- Jess, (a friend eternally indebted to Daniel for his unending kindness & amazing medical support to my Family throughout the years)