Room to spare

When Jamie Peden’s family unexpectedly grew – from three children to five – a bigger home was needed.

But with two disabled daughters who have very specific needs, moving to a house with more bedrooms just simply wasn’t feasible.

The delivery and collection manager, who works for Parcelforce in Rotherham, and his wife, Tanya, are parents to Jackson, five, and disabled daughters Tyla, 15, and Bobbie, 10.

The two girls were born with adducted thumb syndrome – an extremely rare genetic disease, which affects multiple systems and causes malformations of the limbs and palate. They are only the tenth and eleventh people in the world to be born with the condition and as a result, they cannot walk or talk and have to be tube fed.

Space in the family home was already tight with the sisters having to sleep in the dining room, the only space big enough to accommodate their hospital beds.

So, when the couple were asked to become adoptive parents to siblings, Deecan and Kysia, who they had been long-term fostering, they realised their current living situation wouldn’t cope.

Jamie and Tanya moved their bedroom into the loft as they saved for two years to buy a bigger home. Once moved in, however, the work didn’t stop as they then needed to convert the new property to give Tyla and Bobbie the space and privacy they needed.

A grant from the local authority together with £60,000 of their own money helped pay for most of the extension, but they were scrabbling for the final funds until a colleague mentioned our in-house charity, the Rowland Hill Fund, to Jamie.

‘Towards the end of the build we were scraping for every penny we could to make sure we didn’t leave things unfinished,’ said Jamie. ‘We gave them a call and they were just fantastic.’

The Fund granted them £2,000 to finish off the build and buy specialised equipment, such as hoists, for Tyla and Bobbie’s new bedroom, as well as a wet room.

‘They were living in the dining room before, but now they have their own space,’ added Jamie. ‘It’s comfortable and private, it’s just fantastic.

‘The wall we had taken down as part of the extension has opened the house up so that everyone can be together - the children love it. It’s a beautiful home and we have got our bedroom back.’

Helping our own

The Rowland Hill Fund offers financial help to colleagues, pensioners and their families. For more information, call their confidential hotline on 0345 600 4586 or visit www.rowlandhillfund.org.