The Wizzy Bug is here and we have had a a week of practising and getting used to the controls.  We have had a few crashes but thankfully the Wizzy Bug is a sturdy piece so  no damage apart from a few scrapes! This equipment has given us all a complete lease of life.  Finlay is able to move independently for the first time in 4 and half years and  I am able to sit back and just watch – that sounds lazy but he has relied on an adult to take him from A to B so this is a real achievement for us as a family.  Looking forward to some nice weather so we can get to the local park and run riot with a football.Have a look at his press release and the pictures in the gallery.

Hi folks, it has been a while since our last blog!  Things have been rather hectic in the family home this year.  We have just had another visit to Craighalbert and we are pleased to say that this session for far better than our last visit.  Finlay worked very hard.It is a year since we started up the fund and we have had a very successful year.  We hope that we will continue to be successful over the next few years too but we need your help.Would you like to be part of the Finlay’s Fund committee – we need volunteers to help organise events We also need ideas for future fundraising events.

Please contact us through the website or phone Gail on 07810264814

Thanks

Happy New Year and hope it’s a good one!

We have had the most surreal 8 months, if you’ve been keeping up to date with the Fund i’m sure you’ll be aware of the happenings.  We have had a very successful year with Fit for Finlay, the Ceilidh and all the extras that friends have taken part in.  All in all we have rasied a massive £14,000 since April – thank you to everyone who has supported us.

For those of you who don’t know, when i packed in the teaching i got myself a wee job in one of the local hotels, The Belvedere.

This year the owners (my boss) Jackie and Andy Giles held a party on the 2nd of January for their friends, family and staff.  They set up the evening with food, music and a free bar but suggested that in return for their kindness people donate to Finlay’s Fund.This was such a kind gesture and Bruce and I are so grateful to Jackie and Andy for considering Finlay’s Fund as the deserving charity.  We all had a fantastic evening (some stayed into the next morning!!!) and managed to raise £496.10 during the party and i believe we had some online donations straight into the bank account so I will update once a statement comes in.

This is a great amount.

Thanks to the Jackie and Andy and everyone who contributed  x

Well all the planning was worth it!  The Ceilidh was a resounding success and from the feedback we have had everyone enjoyed themselves.The hall filled quickly and by 9pm the room was looking good, people on the dance floor  and the bar being well supported by the men!The band (Racklehan) were fantastic and had the dance floor full throughout the evening.  They played endless tunes and introduced dances that some of us had never heard of, nevertheless people got up and gave them a go.  Bruce (Finlay’s Dad) gave his speech whilst we waited for the delivery of the food.  So many people brought raffle prizes we really thought we were going to be there for hours but we rushed through them before the stovies got cold.  Before the dancing began we gave the lucky punters a chance to win a cracking bottle of malt with a whisky roll.  It was a slow start but soon the coins were rolling thick and fast – it was hard to keep up with who threw what!The last hour saw a couple of complicated dances and a few old favourites.  It was lovely to see so many people up for the last waltz and of course the Orcadian Strip the Willow.  The night ended with a tuneful rendition of Auld Lang Syne.All in all a great night and a fantastic sum of 3000 was raised!  Watch out for Bruce’s speech and some pictures of the evening.A huge thank you to everyone involved in the organsing and of course those of you who came along on the evening!Until next time – heeeuuuch!!!

This event happened at the beginning of August when things were rather hectic in the Sangster house!!!  We were going to Craighalbert for our week therapy and then flying out to Turkey for Finlay’s first holiday abroad.

The event was great – well organised with a great singer and some fab raffle prizes.  My Aunt Elizabeth has made me so proud – in fact i got all upset when i thanked everyone on the night!!!!!  What an affront. Anyway after another great night we raised £720.

A huge thank you to all involved in organising and the people of Shotts for their support.

My Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Dick very kindly organised a Bingo afternoon in the local social club in Shotts.  The event was a huge success and has raised an amazing £1200!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I can’t thank my aunt and uncle enough for all their hard work.  Obviously we have to thank everyone who turned up – amazing considering very few of them will actually know Finlay in person.

Rant time!As a family with a disabled child we are entitled to several benefits but by god they have plenlty of loop holes to ensure you don’t get them!!Firstly i applied for carer’s allowance as i am working as Finlay’s full time carer.  This was all straight forward until i got myself a little evening job to keep my sanity.  I am now no longer entitled to carer’s allowance as my earnings are over the £95 weekly limit!!!!!!!  This makes me mad as it’s just over the limit and i am still caring for him through the day!!!  I work when his dad comes in from work!Secondly, we are allowed to apply for direct payments to allow us to pay for some respite care.  This all seemed great and our plan was to pay my mum (she has him heaps through the week to let me get stuff done) but we are not allowed to employ a family member.  Personally i think this is a total oversight on the Governments part as who better to look after your child than a family member who fully understands their needs???  I also feel rather strongly about my 3 year old being handed over to some stranger who we’d have to put through a disclosure, full training and pay holidays etc.Do you think the people who make these policies up actually have children or even an ounce of common sense??I feel so let down by the system but i’m starting to think that’s their plan – make folk so annoyed that they decide it’s not worth the hassle!BIg huge scream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am lucky enough to have a rather large family!  My Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Dick have been very busy organising several events to help us raise funds for Finlay.If you are anywhere near Shotts then why not take a run through for the Bingo afternoon on Sunday 9th August or the Social Evening with guest singers on Friday 4th September.Tickets are very reasonably priced and there will be fabulous tombola prizes on the night.Hope to see you thenps Thanks for all your hard work Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Dick!!! xxx

Hi folks, sorry i’ve not kept this up to date recently – i seem to be busier than ever now that i’m not working!We’ve had an excellent month.  Craighalbert was brilliant and Finlay and I are into a good routine with the exercises and advice we were given.  Cerebra (a support group) have granted our funding for this year’s Craighalbert!!!  Amazing!  Let me explain.  We applied for the Cerebra grant before we knew how much the fundraising was going to raise.  We weren’t expecting to get anything from them so you can imagine how delighted we were when the letter came through. So you must be wondering what we are going to use the fundraising money for.  We will always keep some aside for future trip s to Craighalbert but it means we can now start seeing reps about other equipment Finlay desperately needs.  We thought we would have to wait until after the ceilidh before we could investigate the cost of other things so it’s a huge step forward.The first rep we are meeting is for a sleep system and a potty so we can the wee man out of nappies and stretching while he’s sleeping – i’ll keep you updated on our progress.Extension – we have finally got our plans back from the OT so we can get moving with the building warrant plans and get some quotes.  I think the extension may have to wait until next spring as i really don’t think i want building work happening over winter, watch this space!Money – we have a very healthy bank account at present.  At the last pay in we were sitting at 5000!!!!!!!!  This is fantastic and i can’t express my gratitude to you all.