Beneficiaries

Youngster finally has good sleep

Little Jimmy Simpson is delighted with his new sleeping arrangements since the Sunshine Fund provided him with a grant for a Symmetri Sleep System.

The six-year-old Percy Hedley pupil, from South Shields, South Tyneside, who has cerebral palsy, was given a symmetri sleep system for night time positioning by the Sunshine Fund in April this year, and his family have already seen the difference.

Now, parents Kim White, 32, and David Simpson, 34, who are both full-time carers for their son, say they are not sure how they survived without it.

Kim said: “Children with cerebral palsy can’t lie straight. They often twist while they are in bed and the sleep system kind of holds him in place. Jimmy says he feels secure in it and that is the most important thing. When you have cerebral palsy you have problems with balance and lying in bed for Jimmy is like walking across a rope for us, so it makes a huge difference.
“He doesn’t get up in the night as much as he used to either. We are still up and down but it has definitely got less. Plus, Jimmy used to always lift up his left leg and it has stopped and I’m sure that’s down to the sleep system.”

Kim and David, who have another son Jack, 10, say the system has benefited him too.
Kim said: “In a lot of ways Jack has got an old head on young shoulders and he has had to because of Jimmy. But he is getting more sleep as well and I think it’s really helping. Him and Jack are very close and he’s pleased his brother can get more sleep.”

Back