Help for Halle

Southampton delivery driver Alan Read and his family couldn’t have done without the support of the Rowland Hill Fund when their 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a lifechanging condition.

Halle needed treatment for severe scoliosis – a medical condition in which a person’s spine has a sideways curve.

Halle’s scoliosis was diagnosed in June 2017. It can interfere with breathing and is extremely painful. Halle is hoping to avoid surgery to correct the condition by relying on non-surgical treatments such as spinal braces and core-strengthening exercises, not provided on the NHS.

Halle’s family has received financial support from the Rowland Hill Fund, our in-house charity, to help pay the bills as her treatment continues.

She has also benefited from a regular grant every quarter for a two-year period from the Post Office Orphans Benevolent Institution (POOBI).

Alan has borrowed money to pay for Halle’s brace and other treatment.

‘My welfare manager at work put me on to the Rowland Hill Fund and it has helped to pay the bills,’ he said. ‘It’s a weight off our shoulders at this time. We’d have been struggling without the help.

POOBI’s grant is helping cover the costs of therapy for Halle. Treatment for Halle will be ongoing throughout her life.

‘We weren’t aware of the Rowland Hill Fund before this happened, but I would recommend it wholeheartedly to colleagues who are struggling because of ill health in the family,’ said Halle.

The Fund offers financial assistance to colleagues, pensioners and their families at times of need. Get in touch on the confidential helpline: 0345 600 4586.