Woody – Therapeutic Bed
Woody is a three-year-old boy with complex lifelong disability and developmental delay.
He lives with his parents, Tess and Dan, and his younger brother Owen. His family provides intensive daily care. They also work closely with therapists to support his safety, development and comfort.
One of the biggest concerns has been Woody’s frequent head banging. He seeks hard surfaces, including windows, floors and the sides of his cot. This has caused injuries and made safe sleep very difficult.
For the past two years, Woody has slept in a small porta cot with mesh sides. This has helped keep him safe at night. However, he is now close to outgrowing it.
His family needed a safe long-term sleep solution. They also needed a suitable change table, as Woody had outgrown his baby change table.
MAD helped fund a therapeutic bed for Woody. Brainwave also contributed to the cost, and Woody’s family contributed toward the mattress.
The disability-specific hi-low bed will give Woody a safe sleeping space with enclosed mesh sides and padded ends. It will also work as an adjustable change table. This will help reduce unsafe lifting for his parents and carers.
His family shared:
“At the moment he’s nearly 4 and still sleeping in a portacot (the fourth bed that we have tried for him). His current and future sleeping arrangements have always been a source of anxiety for us – we didn’t know how we were going to find a safe sleep solution that ticked all the boxes for him — this bed does.
Knowing that he’ll soon have this feels like a massive burden of worry has been lifted. We have had a very joyous week celebrating and sharing the news with family.
There are so many moments in this journey that are heavy, and your generosity has brought so much lightness and peace.
It feels refreshing and healing to have Woody’s needs seen, acknowledged, addressed and now met. Thank you.
Thank you for seeing Woody and for choosing to support our family in such a practical and meaningful way. We are so, so grateful.”
— Tess, Dan, Woody and Owen
