Our ninth ‘Sparkle’ Event and the Mini Christmas Tree Competition
Ian who lives, enabled by ubu, with greater independence in Middlesbrough presented a voucher for a sparkling spa day to a lady called Annemarie. We met her at Acklam Green Centre in Middlesbrough where many of the people we serve go to for socialising and activities that promote independence.
We got to know Annemarie because we use some of the office facilities at the Centre where she works. Annemarie shared with us the story of health. This young man needs to have a kidney transplant but it has been very hard to find a suitable donor. It has been an incredibly stressful time for him and for the whole family.
Annemarie decided that the best solution is for her to donate one of her own kidneys. It is a very brave decision and the people we serve wanted to give Annemarie a little pampering before she goes into hospital in the New Year to donate her kidney.
A day out of luxury at a local spa seemed like a really nice idea and when Ian presented Annemarie with her voucher she said “…I would just like to say a very big thank you to each and every one of you for thinking and caring, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your kind gesture. The past few months have been a horrendous journey for me and my family and hopefully we will get a light at the end of the tunnel with a transplant in the new year.”
Our Christmas celebration at the Hub today included enjoying the entries from our Mini (ands sometimes big) Christmas tree competition. We had some fine entries with beautifully decorated trees. Everyone was really impressed by a homemade Mini Christmas Tree made by Melanie from Lincoln, it really sparkled! We sang along to "Rudoplph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and ate lovely 'reindeer' cookies and drank spiced squash too. The spirit of the season has been building each day as we Unite@Christmas together.
