Luke’s story

Photo collage of Luke and mum when he was a child, Luke using his walker and mum and Luke in his wheelchair

When nine months of excitement, waiting to meet my baby, ended in an emergency caesarean, my life turned upside down in an instant.

My son Luke was six weeks old when a scan revealed significant brain damage. He would live with cerebral palsy for the rest of his life.

Luke is now 23 years old and a residential learner at National Star. He’s achieving far more than I ever thought possible. There is nowhere else like National Star. The things they offer just can’t be found anywhere else.

Your kindness has given me hope for his future

Luke lives in National Star’s specialist accommodation called Bradbury Gardens. This amazing home–from–home was built thanks to donations from people like you. Luke needs a lot of specialist equipment, regular medication and therapies, and he’s fed through his tummy.

Thanks to the wide corridors at Bradbury Gardens, Luke has been learning to drive his wheelchair using head switches. He also loves to use his race runner, a three–wheeled running frame, which for the first time has allowed him to move independently without being reliant on technology or switches.

This wonderful charity is raising money to open new specialist accommodation, just like Bradbury Gardens, at their Ullenwood site by September 2023.

They urgently need to replace Elizabeth House in Gloucester, which can no longer meet the increasingly complex needs of the students who need very high levels of support.

The new residence at Ullenwood will have 13 bedrooms, accessible gardens, sensory rooms, life skills kitchens and communal spaces. Students will have easy access to all the specialist support and therapies on site. The whole project will cost over £6m and they’ve raised enough to start building work but are still £580,000 short so they can finish in time for the new academic year in September 2023.

It would be amazing if you could donate today

I’ve seen how living in a specialist residence at National Star can transform a young person’s independence and life chances. Your gift will give them specialist facilities, resources and equipment that will help them develop and flourish.

It would be amazing if you could donate today.

Thank you,

Sarah

For £25

£25 could buy crockery for the life skills kitchen, helping to build a young person’s independence

For £50

£50 could buy bedding for a bedroom, creating a feeling of home-from-home and a sanctuary to relax and study in

For £75

£75 could help fund a bubble wall in a sensory room, a calm space away from busy college life and communal spaces

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