Daniel is 11 years old and was one of the first children to start using Little Harbour when it opened. His family first visited the hospice in January 2012, before Little Harbour was built Daniel and his family travelled to CHSW’s Little Bridge House hospice in North Devon for respite stays.
Daniel was born with Hypo plastic left heart syndrome which is a congenital heart defect. Daniel has had multiple operations and procedures since birth and needs regular medication and life is busy with many appointments to attend.
Daniel and his family visit Little Harbour regularly, his older sister Lucy (13) and younger brother Dominic (9) love their visits too, getting to spend quality time both with their parents and with the sibling team who arrange trips out and activities alongside proving emotional support.
The whole family stay at Little Harbour for short breaks allowing mum Leanne and dad Nick the opportunity to hand over the 24/7 care and medical responsibilities for Daniel to the Care Team and have some time to simply be mum and dad again. The whole family has time to rest, relax and recharge their batteries while making precious memories together.
The family have made great friendships with other families who also stay at the hospice with siblings forming friendships as well as the parents bonding too.
Daniel has great fun at Little Harbour and likes to get fully involved. Daniel and brother Dominic are often seen helping out the Maintenance Team with checks around the site, are heard on the walkie talkies, make regular visits to the Fundraising Team and always managing to hunt out sweet treats wherever they have been hidden in the building. Daniel also loves spending time in the jacuzzi with his siblings and the team.
Daniel’s mum Leanne said “We are very grateful for the time we spend at Little Harbour. For us it means Daniel is cared for the whole time and gives us respite from medication giving, monitoring his breathing and broken nights’ sleep. It also allows us quality time to spend with his brother and sister.”