Margot’s Story: Help Us Make Her Home Safe and Accessible

Margot is a bright and courageous 5-year-old who lives near Northampton. In May 2021, when she was just 20 months old, her life changed in an instant. She suffered a brain haemorrhage caused by a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM)—a rare and serious condition where a tangle of abnormal blood vessels disrupts normal blood flow in the brain.

This catastrophic event led to a stroke, resulting in a significant acquired brain injury. Since then, Margot has faced immense challenges with incredible bravery. Her resilience and determination continue to inspire everyone who meets her.

Margot’s injury has affected many aspects of her life, including her mobility, communication, and cognitive development. She requires ongoing specialist therapies, equipment, and support to help her thrive and live as independently and joyfully as possible.

Thanks to the generosity of friends, family, and the wider community, we’ve been able to fund additional therapies that have made a real difference to Margot’s quality of life. However, more recently, her dystonia has worsened, and her mobility has significantly declined. While she is working incredibly hard to maintain her current level of movement, it is not expected to improve greatly. She can no longer climb stairs unaided and is now too heavy for us to carry safely.

To give Margot the accessibility and independence she deserves, we now need to adapt our home by creating a downstairs bedroom and an accessible kitchen. We were fortunate to receive support from the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which enabled us to install an adapted bathroom in 2023. We’ve now been approved for further DFG funding, but unfortunately, it doesn’t cover all the necessary costs—so we’re fundraising to bridge the gap.

Creating a ground floor bedroom will be life-changing for Margot. It will allow her to safely use her wheelchair on difficult days, reduce the risk of falls on the stairs, and give her full access to her home. Most importantly, it will support her independence and dignity. To make this possible, we will need to extend the ground floor of our home and relocate the kitchen.

Despite everything she’s been through, Margot continues to smile, learn, and fight. Her journey is a powerful reminder of the strength and spirit of children—and of the vital role that community support plays in helping them live full and meaningful lives.

Thank you for helping us make our home a safe and accessible place for Margot. Every donation, share, and kind word brings us one step closer to our goal.