Can you help Holly’s dream?
HOLLY Benbow, from Nantymoel, is about to turn 18, and all she wants on her big day is birthday cards – and a trip to Castle Bingo with her mum and her sister.
TURNING 18 is a big deal – especially if you’ve had to survive a lot of things to get there.
But for Holly Benbow from Nantymoel, near Bridgend, who is severely epileptic and autistic and whgo also has global developmental delay, there will be no lavish gifts on December 19.
Instead all Holly, who can suffer up to 20 fits a day, has asked for is birthday cards – and a trip to Castle Bingo in Bridgend with her mum and her sister.
So, hoping to fulfil both wishes, sister Amy Lloyd, 25, turned to Facebook and her plea for people to make Holly “the happiest girl in the world” by sending her cards has gone viral.
“We only did it thinking that a couple of people locally would send cards,” said Amy.
Mum Claire Benbow, 44, added: “If she just had 10 more cards from people outside the family she would be happy.
“But she already has 20 cards on the mantlepiece. It’s amazing.
“We didn’t expect to have this kind of response because we haven’t done anything like this before.”
Holly, who likes watching the Tweenies, Mr Tumble, Teletubbies and Peppa Pig and doing puzzles, has a place at Heronsbridge School in Bridgend but Claire said because her epilepsy is not under control she is rarely able to attend and has been unable to form friendships as a result.
“Basically she hasn’t got many friends in school, so we can’t do a party for her,” said Claire.
“The only thing other than that is to spend the day opening birthday cards.
“She likes to see her name and she likes us to read out who the cards are from.”
Holly, who is cared for full time by Claire and Adrian, 46, was formally diagnosed with epilepsy at 10 months.
“She has many differ- ent types of epilepsy,” said Claire.
“She was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital and also had a vagus nerve stimulator implanted (the device sends electrical pulses to the brain) to try to control the fits but it hasn’t made any difference whatsoever.
“On a good day we can have about five to six fits and on a bad day we can have anything from 15 to 20.
“People say to me ‘How do you manage?’ but we don’t know any different.
“We are always by her side. We put her in the recovery position and because she goes blue we have to give her oxygen.
“If she fits for longer than five minutes we have to give her emergency medication and then if it goes on we have to phone for assistance.
“She also has to use a wheelchair when she goes out because if she walks far she gets very very tired and that brings on fits.
“But other than that she gets on with her day and is just fantastic.”
Cards can be sent to Holly Benbow, 7 Heol y Fedwen, Nantymoel, Bridgend, CF32 7NS.