'My son Kristan has grown too big for his wheelchair. So I'm trying to find someone to give it to, free of charge. That may seem straightforward enough but it's not. I tried to give it to a local healthcare centre and they said they would take it but they would have to put it into a skip. It was worth 10 grand and I had been three years waiting to get it, and they just wanted to throw it in a skip? I just couldn't believe it. Then I thought St John of Gods or a respite centre would take it, so I rang around everywhere and it was the same story – no one would take it. They say it's because of MRSA and things like that.

"Kristan has a form of Down Syndrome. I believe that it was his injections he got at four months old that led him to develop severe brain damage and epilepsy. Now he doesn't communicate at all. He can't walk or talk. He can't even look at you. He's great though. He's a little angel and is 14 next month. When I got that wheelchair, Kristan was eight. They said that the frame would last 10 years and the seat could be changed to suit his body, as it grew. So I thought that I'd have it forever. But then Kristan became very ill and he put on three stone. He also has a curvature of the spine and it has gotten really, really bad, so he had to get a new chair to support him properly.

"One time I was waiting six weeks to get a wheelchair fixed for Kristan. That meant he had no wheelchair at all during that time. I couldn't take him to the hospital, I couldn't take him anywhere. I couldn't even leave the house. I had to stay off work for the whole six weeks. If somebody had given me a wheelchair during those six weeks, I would have been delighted. That's why I am so determined to give it to someone who needs it. I've been there.

"I know what it feels like to be left waiting for equipment. Kristan has been waiting for specially made shoes for four years. They are called AFOs. He got a pair last year and they were too tight, so they had to send them back to get them re-issued. Then they were re-issued six months later but he had grown in the time that passed and they wouldn't fit. So that's how you end up waiting four years. He still hasn't got them. You
don't get much support in terms of equipment and money when you have a disabled child but you do get emotional support. If you need someone to talk to, there is help available but that's down to the volunteers. They are doing it out of care and understanding.

"And St John of Gods are brilliant as well. Kristan goes to Islandbridge at about twenty past nine in the morning and they drop him back at half past three. Sometimes they change his drugs and his epilepsy gets a bit better. It's great because he comes on a little bit. He starts to focus on things and if they see him focus on one thing, then they get in loads of people to help build on that. But then he will have one bad seizure and it all goes back to square one again. At least they keep trying. They don't give up.

"I'm not giving up this either. It's not right. It's such a valuable piece of equipment. Somebody must need it. There must be a way to re-use it."