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Bailey attends our CADS holiday club
Bailey has cerebral palsy which came as the result of a fractured skull experienced at birth. This caused a brain haemorrhage which then led to his diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
Bailey's Story, as told to us by his mum Abi
He is very chatty and a real character. He doesn’t stop talking. Once seen, never forgotten! That’s what we say about Bailey.
Bailey doesn’t walk so he uses hoists and wheelchairs to get around.
He loves people – he will chat to anyone and everyone he comes into contact with. He always makes everyone he meets laugh.
He first started going to Seashell when he was about three, when the organisation used to run a pre-school “Stay and Play” scheme. He’s also used Hydro under the private hire scheme and then he started doing Holiday CADS and Saturday CADS.
He absolutely loves CADS. He loves going and doesn’t like it when he can’t attend. His favourite activities are the trampolining, the bikes and swimming. He’s always the last one out of the pool at swimming because he never wants the session to finish.
It takes him a while to get him home because he never wants to leave!
Looking after Bailey is full-on and it’s constant. He needs lots of attention and is very active, so it’s nice to know he is coming somewhere where he is being properly looked after and the staff can cater to all his needs. Whenever he is at CADS we know he is safe and having fun. They’d never say “we can’t have Bailey today” which sadly we have had from some carers, because they just can’t cope with his demands.
CADS will never let you down.
It’s great that CADS means he can access the activities he loves. Some centres say they are accessible and have a hoist for the pool perhaps, but then the changing rooms aren’t accessible or you can’t get wheelchairs round the pool easily. So we could get him in the pool, but we don’t have a hoist for changing him. But at Seashell it truly is accessible.
He does have a powered wheelchair and is very good at driving it, but it is mentally draining for him, so he also has a chair that we push too. Hopefully as he gets older and more independent he will be able to use the electric chair more.
We’re lucky in that we’ve just been able to move into a fully adapted house. So there are ramps and hoists and even doors where you just wave your hand to open them. He also has his own sink area in the kitchen and hoists between his bedroom and bathroom.
It’s great that he has everything he needs at home now.
Bailey has an infectious laugh and a cheeky sense of humour. The Seashell Trust has made a massive difference to Bailey and his family.
Paddy McGuinness.
Paddy met Bailey while filming for Children in Need
You can see BBC’s Children in Need story “Paddy’s Ride of My Life” here. We’re grateful to Children in Need for supporting our CADS programme.
The crew filmed with Bailey and the Seashell Team in October 2024.