Sponsored by
Jasmine gets her dream bedroom
A TODDLER suffering from a crippling bone condition has a big smile on her face thanks to council bosses who gave her a new bedroom.
Three-year-old Jasmine Sanderson is suffering from rare genetic disease which causes bones to create bridges across her joints, locking them into place.
Her back and neck have already been badly affected by the devastating illness, leaving her unable to manage the stairs on her own.
And if she were to fall over and bump herself it could worsen the condition.
Jasmine's parents, Kelly, 31, and Ian Sanderson, 35, were considering moving from their semi-detached home in Swanage Grove, Hart Station, to a bungalow.
But generous Hartlepool Borough Council bosses stepped in and offered a grant for a new downstairs bedroom extension before carrying out building work.
>> For more information about FOP
Kelly said: "She has lots of space to play and she loves it. We are over the moon."
Work was completed to knock down the family's old garage and build the bedroom extension, with en-suite bathroom, walk-in shower and a lowered sink.
Jasmine, who is enjoying nursery at Hartlepool's St John Vianney Primary School, in King Oswy Drive, cannot lift her arms up very high but the new facilities mean she will still be able to wash her own hands.
Kelly said the stairs have been a "nightmare" to negotiate and had posed a danger for Jasmine.
The housewife said: "If she fell down the stairs, if it did not kill her it could cause major flare-ups all over her body and it would cause horrific pain and maybe cause her to be in a wheelchair."
Kelly still helps Jasmine upstairs to go and play in the room she used to share with her sister Sienna, five, but she does not have to tackle the steps numerous times a day.
The new bedroom has been specially designed for Jasmine with the help of an occupational therapist.
Kelly said: "They advised us she would be best with a walk in shower because we have to lift her up into the bath and sometimes it hurts her.
"We have always had quite a low bed for her because we are worried about her falling out of bed. We put bean bags around the bed."
Kelly and Ian, a welder, are organising a race night to raise cash for Oxford Research, which is looking for a cure to the condition, called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, (or FOP), and affects just one in two million worldwide.
Tickets for the night, at Hartlepool Workingmens Club, in King Oswy Drive, from 7pm on Friday, March 19, cost 3.50 and can be bought from the club.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Hartlepool
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: 0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
