We're Beth and Ceri, 25 year-old twins living in Cornwall. We first started visiting Little Bridge House when we were 10 years old and had regular stays for over 10 years. We both live with a progressive neuromuscular condition called spinal muscular atrophy, which affects our mobility and shortens our life expectancy. Initially, we visited Little Bridge House to give our parents respite from our extensive care needs. However, it soon became a safe haven for us and a place we could fully be ourselves without judgement and the fear of being ‘different’.
For anyone, growing up can be a very confusing and difficult thing but for us, growing up also meant getting weaker which was terrifying. The staff at Little Bridge House played a vital part in helping us become the independent, life-loving women we’ve become today who are employed, about to live independently and continue to push boundaries and break stereotypes. Our strength and determination to succeed and grow in life was fuelled by the passionate and dedicated members of staff at the hospice. We count ourselves lucky to be able to call several members of staff our friends.
It is impossible to pick one memory from our time at Little Bridge House to share. We were always empowered to try new things and be comfortable and confident in our own skin. Memories that spring to mind include staying up until the early hours of the morning with friends we’d made during stays at the hospice, going on shopping sprees which ended with a well-earned chocolate milkshake, being taken on a two-hour journey to see one of our favourite bands and drinking a little too much sangria (when we were old enough of course!). During our stays, we learnt so much about ourselves and our individualities.
We will forever be grateful for the support we received, and continue to receive, from Little Bridge House. It holds an incredibly special place in our hearts and we feel super lucky to have grown up there and learn many lessons that made the starting blocks of our adulthood.