Life-changing donation for mother and young son

MELKSHAM mum, Samantha Mosley, received a life-changing donation from Melksham Lions that has enabled her to buy a safe bed for her son Laani, who has complex medical needs. 

Laani Mosley, who is almost two, has a variety of medical conditions that means he has to be continually monitored throughout the night. This meant that he had to share a bed with his mum, resulting in Samantha struggling to sleep at night.

She said, “Overnight started to become really difficult, especially over the last six months. Laani has obstructive sleep apnea so has to be hooked up to a machine at night to ensure he keeps breathing. This meant that I was continually up all night making sure he was okay. There are also lots of wires and machines that makes it difficult.” 

Recently, Samantha’s Wiltshire Portage visitor, Shelley, saw the struggle for Samantha and got in contact with local charities asking whether they could help. 

Melksham Lions came forward and offered to pay for a bespoke bed for Laani that will allow him to be safe at night, whilst giving Samantha peace of mind. 

Samantha added, “I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Melksham Lions who have given Laani a safe place to sleep. I struggled to think of a solution for him as he needs to be close to me at night but a single bed was too big to fit into my room. 

“I was then able, with the help of the donation, to have a bespoke-sized bed made for Laani to fit in my bedroom. It’s soft and padded so I know he will be safe and also has pockets and holes for all of the wires from the machines. It is going to be absolutely amazing to have this now and Laani loves it. He will have to adjust to it, now not sleeping with his mummy,  but it’s just great. 

“It was made by Soft Play Creation and is known as a ‘safe space bed’.

“A huge thank you to Shelley at Wiltshire Portage for arranging this, to Melksham Lions for the donation and to Soft Play Creation for making it for us.” 

Melksham Lions said, “Samatha Mosley and her son Laani were referred to Melksham Lions Club by a portage home visitor from Wiltshire Portage service, a home education service for children from birth to school entry.

“We were made aware of the situation and arranged for our own welfare representatives to visit Sam and her family.

“We quickly recognised the need for Laani to have a safe space bed and mattress due to his urgent medical requirements.  Fortunately we had a meeting the same evening and it was agreed to finance the bed and mattress in full.  The following day the suppliers were contacted, the bed and mattress ordered, and Wiltshire Portage service and Sam  notified of our decision.

“This is just one example of what Lions do, living up to our motto ‘Ordinary People Amazing Things.’”