Pippa is a gorgeous, cheeky, happy little girl but her Mum, Dad and Brother don’t know how many more Christmases they will have with her. This film asks viewers to help make this Christmas special for her and her family.
Pippa has multiple conditions including chronic lung disease, Downs Syndrome and a severe form of epilepsy which causes multiple seizures every day. She is non-verbal, non-mobile and tube fed. Catching a cold often progresses to a long hospital stay due to pneumonia and she can't be left alone for a single minute in case she has a life-threatening seizure or stops breathing without warning.
"We don’t know what we would do without Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service. The day care and respite support mean we have some time to recoup. Also there aren’t many places we can go as a family that are accessible and where we feel safe. At the hospice we can just be a family and make family memories, playing, swimming, or just relaxing and having a cuddle. We don’t have to wear all the other hats; nurse, carer, physio, occupational therapist. We can just be Mum, Dad and Brother." - Danielle, Pippa's Mum
Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service is a local charity that provides specialist care and vital support to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, across Berkshire and into surrounding counties.
Our holistic approach is tailored for every child and family in order to provide the best possible care and support they need, as well as helping them create precious memories for however long they have together.
Whether it is at our children's hospice in Maidenhead or out in the community in a family's home, hospitals or schools, we can offer: respite care, specialist play, symptom management, family support, end of life care and bereavement support.
John and Fiona Devine founded our charity in memory of their son Alexander, who tragically passed away from a rare brain tumour in 2006 at the age of eight. Their personal experience and extensive research led them to realise the desperate need for a local children's hospice service in Berkshire.
We align with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
