Angel and Pippin's Journey

I am raising money to support Angel's Journey and development that has been made possible by him Mum Sascha Yeomans.

I am hoping to raise enough money for their family  to go on the National Trail in 2022 .
And to make a documentary on the trip.

Angel was born with Cerebral Palsy 12 years ago. At 4 days old an MRI showed dramatic areas of damage to his brain. The hospital predicted that he would be blind, have no language, no voluntary movement, and no suck, gag or swallow reflex. He was allowed to go home only under the care of a palliative care nurse.

 

I couldn't be prouder of my friend Sascha who researched everything she could find about brain plasticity and created her own intensive therapy programs for her baby. She felt she could do more than just say goodbye and let him go.

 

From the moment he first started to breastfeed we celebrated every milestone. We rejoiced as he crawled then walked and ran. We marvelled when he started to talk, laugh and tell silly knock knock jokes for hours. These days he hardly stops eating, reading or talking. He is the kindest and most empathetic soul you'll ever meet.

 

Sascha raised her three children alone after Angel's birth. Their father died from a brain tumour. She has done an incredible job raising all of them and has put her own life aside to give them everything she could. Medical experts have marvelled at Angel's progress and given Sascha the credit for how well he is doing.

 

During an appointment at the Royal Children's Hospital it was mentioned that horse riding might be helpful to strengthen Angel's core and straighten his spine. Sascha has a background as a horse trainer so she turned to Pippin, their family horse and set to work training him to work with Angel.

 

Initially they needed a person to walk on either side of Pippin to hold Angel on. After several months of work with Pippin and his Occupational Therapist, Angel developed the strength, balance and confidence he needed to stay on unassisted. Eventually Sascha could ride another horse whilst leading Pippin with Angel riding. After each ride Angel improved in strength and remarkably his eyes aligned for a few hours. Horse riding has been an amazing therapy, and given Angel the ability to access trails and adventures that a wheelchair could never do.

 

Inspired by this, Sascha decided to dedicate a year to getting Angel riding every day for several hours. She decided to take Angel on the Bicentennial National Trail as a way to achieve this. The hope is that the trip will be a way to incorporate therapy into every activity he does throughout the day, and Angel's OT has been working with the family to find ways of adapting equipment and tasks to achieve this.

 

Last year Sascha married her childhood sweetheart Tom and he has been the most amazing addition to the family. He has become a completely dedicated, loving and supportive stepfather. He has taken on helping Angel and preparing for their upcoming journey.

 

Sascha and Tom have been trying to save for this trip but without their usual income from tourism due to Covid restrictions, it's been hard.

 

Please help me raise money for the equipment and costs of this important trip. Sascha and Tom also want to make a documentary on this trip about Angel's journey to ability, and to raise awareness of Cerebral Palsy. I think this is an important journey and documentary that could bring hope to families facing a similar start to Angel's. I've watched this boy from the day he was born and I couldn't be prouder of my best friend and all she's done for this beautiful boy. Now it's her turn to get some help.