The parents of a young girl with a rare form of epilepsy have thanked people who helped them raise fund for a £12,000 hydro spa pool to help with her therapy.
When Katie Hall, 31, went to check on her daughter Addie just a month before her second birthday, she found her having an unexpected seizure which would change her and her family's lives forever.
She was so ill that she required prolonged intensive care support with ventilation over an eight-day period.
Despite extensive investigations, doctors have not been able to identify a cause but have provided the family with a generalised diagnosis of hemiconvulsion-hemiplegia-epilepsy (HHE), which affects only a few children across the country.
But now, thanks to the support and kind donations of the people of Lowestoft, Addie's parents Katie Hall and Luke Field have installed a £12,000 hydro spa to help with her therapy.
And to give something back to the community, the couple have said the pool will be open to other disabled children across the town.
'We are seriously thankful and overwhelmed by the amazing generosity, kindness and compassion people have shown to us,' said Miss Hall.
'A few months ago I wouldn't have been able to talk about this.
'We just feel it is time to give something back because people have made what has been the most difficult time of our lives, a little less painful. We owe everybody so much.
'When something like this happens out of the blue, and for Addie to now have a life-long condition, was something we never expected.
'We were in Addenbrooke's Hospital for six weeks and we didn't know if she was going to live or die.
'It has been really difficult because she was developing and reaching all the milestones.
'She was having hydrotherapy three times a week at the children's trust and that really helped to relax her mind as well as her body,' Miss Hall added.
'She loves the water and it is something she can do alongside her sister too. It helps to relax her aching joints and muscles.
'All the people of Lowestoft were able to give us this and what we have decided is once we have an enclosure built around it, we are then going to enable other children with disabilities to use the pool as well.'
Addie has recently received intensive support at The Children's Trust in Tadworth, including physiotherapy and occupational therapy, as part of her rehabilitation process.
The fund-raising effort originally stemmed from Kim Armon, Miss Hall's work colleague at Benjamin Britten High School, who kickstarted the idea of raising money via the Team Addie Facebook page.
The family said that the idea of fund-raising for their daughter 'never crossed their minds at the time'.
Miss Hall said she and her partner are currently refurbishing their home in Gunton.
To support the cause, visit www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/team-addie/249022 or type 'Team Addie' into Facebook for daily updates.
Are you raising money for charity? Email joe.randlesome@archant.co.uk
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