Fundraising for the Page Family

Tim and Emily Page along with their young children Elizabeth and Thomas have had an eventful past couple of years, getting married Easter Saturday and then falling pregnant very quickly after that.

From the beginning of that pregnancy though, things were different. It was found early on that there was not one baby, nor two but triplets! It was an eventful pregnancy with many specialist appointments and lots of trips and long stays in Hobart at the wonderfully supportive Ronald McDonald House. To show how spirited the triplets were, they weren’t keen to wait until their scheduled delivery date and decided to make a grand entrance 5 weeks early to the world on Christmas Day 2016. Esther, Timothy and Elijah spent several weeks in hospital after the birth where they were able to get stronger and head home however it was clear early on that while Esther was thriving, the two boys were getting further behind.

Timothy and Elijah were definitely fighters though. Constantly sick and in and out of hospital with their family who were desperately seeking answers to their apnoeas, chronic brochiolitis, seizures and other behaviour. Several late night trips to the emergency departments around the state and they’ve been on more Ambulance trips than most people.

As the boys now approach 2 years of age this coming Christmas, there have been more answers but unfortunately they are not what the family was wanting. They have both been diagnosed with a severe level 5 physical disability, hypotonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy (secondary to an unknown genetic condition) associated with additional medical complications (severe global developmental delay, seizure disorder, respiratory issues, dysphagia - nutrition via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy). Their condition is permanent. That sounds like a bit of a mouthful, which it is but essentially it means that both Timothy and Elijah have poor head control, they can't sit, crawl, walk, talk or even eat on their own.

Due to the high care needs and the change in circumstances where Tim (a former process worker) and Emily (a former enrolled nurse) who are very hard working people are now unable to work due to becoming full-time carers they are going to require significant assistance to help them through.

There are so many items this family will need however two of the immediate needs are

* A long term fully modified House - The current 3 bedroom rental property the Page family of 7 have called home for the last 5 years, has well and truly been out grown. There is no room left to fit all of Timothy and Elijah's medical equipment (wheel chairs, seats, shower commode and entral feeding tube formula/supplies) and in the coming months and years they will need standing frames, hoists/lifts, HILO beds and many other pieces of equipment associated with having a severe disability. This home is also needing to undergo maintenance (replacing of roof and all windows/frames etc to help improve ventalation/condensation issues and energy efficiency) so in the short term they require temporary disabled access accommodation for approx 6-8 weeks or this work cant go ahead. In the long term though they need a forever home.

The NDIS will provide the much needed funds to modify a bathroom and kitchen etc but they need a secure long term house first. They applied to Housing Tasmania last year after having no success in finding a suitable house in the private rental market to accommodate Timothy and Elijah's needs and future requirements. They were advised that although they are on the priority housing waiting list that the wait will still be years before a property is available. They have exhausted all other avenues to secure appropriate housing, contacting all their local accomodation providers and applied for the government programmes, Home Share and the Streets Ahead scheme. Lastly they wrote to the Tasmanian Minister for Housing and from that no further solutions were achieved. They are at a loss now and don't know what else to do. Having a fully configured house long term means they won't have to constantly battle with the short term rental market, relocate to the mainland or an area away from family and support networks. It will enable the boys to grow up in the best environment suitable to their needs.

* A new vehicle is the second dire need – The current Tarago is full with 3 children's car seats and the two older children (Thomas, 7 and Elizabeth, 9) in the back seat. The car required will need to be of a large size, wheel chair access at the back and with sliding doors on both sides which may have to be engineered. This is due for the need to accommodate the next stage of supported seating the "Carrot" car seats Timothy and Elijah will require to enable easy transferring from the car to their wheelchairs. A larger size van will also allow for transport of their current custom wheelchair strollers which can not fit in the current Tarago.

Out of all the struggles in the past couple of years, reaching the point of asking for help has been one of the hardest but due to the last couple of years of specialist appointments and limited capacity for income, funds have become exhausted and as hard as it is to ask for help, this family desperately needs assistance whether it be financial, additional information for vehicle options/modifications, housing opportunities or assistance with any other tasks which come up.

Here's an article from the local newspaper when the triplets were born and a few other photos of Timothy and Elijah.

https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/4376103/a-christmas-to-remember-triplets-arrive-on-december-25/ 

 

Timothy enjoying his first standing frame fitting.

 

Timothy and Elijah in their new custom wheelchair strollers.

 

Timothy and Elijah's shower commode - as you can see, it's little things like this which are crucial to us being able to support Timothy and Elijah but do take up a lot of space.

 

Lastly - here's Tim and Emily's bedroom, currently shared with the three triplets. Unfortunately, things are so tightly packed the wardrobes aren't even usable anymore!

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thank you so very much from the bottom of our hearts for those who choose to donate and assist to help these kids have the best life they can. Thanks to those who can share this campaign with family and friends. Words cannot express our gratitude.