Specialist bed will help Doncaster boy, 5, be safe

Lucas Rodermond, aged 5, of New Edlington, has Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Epilepsy and Global Development Delay - leading to numerous problems during the night..

These conditions mean he suffers seizures in bed, struggles to sleep, and frequently gets up and walks around the house, climbing over stair gates and on furniture.

Lucas’s mum Kim Rodermond said: “Lucas’s seizures mean he can, and has, hurt himself on the side of his bed. He also gets up about 20 times a night and he has no awareness of danger.

“We have stair gates, but he can climb over these but then he falls because his balance is poor. “

Kim thought that Lucas would benefit from a specialist safety bed, which is fully padded and has sides high enough that children can not climb over, but she was shocked to discover how much they cost.

She added: “Lucas gets a Disability Living Allowance and I thought I could afford to save £10 of this each month to buy the bed he needs.

“Then I looked up the prices and almost had a heart attack. Lucas would be almost 40 before I could save enough.”

Kim was then told about the Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, the UK’s largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness, who agreed to help pay for the bed.

The bed, which costs £3,283, is now on order. Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, who has chosen the foundation as its charity of the year, has also contributed £1,776 towards the equipment.

Kim said: “I am really pleased with the quick response. Getting the new bed will make a huge difference to Lucas’s night-time safety.

“There have been many times when his arms have been blue from bruises after hitting his arms during a seizure – that will soon be a thing of the past.”