Kia ora whānau,
This is Rachel, Lauren's mum.
First, a huge heart-felt thank you for all your generosity to fund a vehicle for Lauren through this page. We were blown away by the response.
Sadly, Lauren passed away on the 20th of October, at three years and seven months old. Although her health had not been great for several weeks, we had been at home and were mostly managing, so the decline was sudden in the end. She was surrounded by love with myself, my husband Raymond, my mum, and our lovely Alfie all holding her.
We celebrated Lauren's life last week and are now trying to work out what life will look like.
We have decided that the money donated for Lauren's vehicle, would best be donated to Conductive Education, who also need a van and have recently set up their own Give a Little for that specific purpose: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/conductive-education-lower-hutt-needs-a-new-van
In this way, rather than only benefitting one special needs family, the money supports multiple special needs kids. Lauren used to regularly take the Conductive van to hydrotherapy (before the van broke down!), one of her favourite places in the world. The van would also be used to take children to Riding for the Disabled and other outings.
We sincerely hope that this doesn't upset anyone who wished to donate to Lauren more directly. In honesty, we could not think of a better group to benefit from this.
If anything, the past few months underscore how important it is to enjoy and use the time you have. It's really hard to feel grateful every minute of every day, but sometimes just a little reflection on the small joys can make a big difference.
With love and immense gratitude,
Rachel Malcolm-Swindells - on behalf of Lauren, my husband Raymond, my son Fraser, and Lauren's BFF Alfie
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Alfie here again - I made a video celebrating Lauren, which I have linked on this update, which you are welcome to watch. It was made with the good and happy times, which we had many.
Conductive Education Trust (http://www.cewellington.org.nz/) is a registered charity which means that all donations will go towards the goal of getting their van.
Thanks again for your support in this incredibly difficult time,
Much love,
Alfie
