The brightest star in the sky

April 18, 2017

Six years ago, in 2011, Tamara and Jamie Padfield lost their beautiful eight-year-old daughter, Charlotte, a very special kid.

In her earliest years, Charlotte was un-diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, and it was so uncommon it had not even been named yet.

She required 24-hour care and was very susceptible to getting other illnesses, her mother Tamara used to nap in just 3-hour-cycles just to be able to provide the care she needed.

Charlotte did however stay at the hospice around 3 times a year for a week at a time, offering her family some time for respite.

Since Charlotte’s passing, the Padfields have still utilised the services offered at Very Special Kids, especially Charlotte’s younger siblings, Emma, 11, and Isabel, 8 and more recently Jack, 2.

The two beautiful, healthy little girls attend our bereaved sibling days and “Emma said she finds the days help make her more confident, as she’s a little on the shy side.

The sibling days are great for their self-development and also as a coping mechanism, finding a balance between having fun and remembering their sister, Charlotte” said Jamie.

Jamie and Tamara see a lot of benefit in the days for their daughters, and they are nothing but thankful, as they love for the girls to be able to rejoice in Charlottes memory.

“The girls are happy, they still talk about Charlotte regularly. Whenever we are outside at night they look up and find the brightest star in the sky at night and say ‘that’s Charlotte’, they always still include her, because she is still a part of the family” said Jamie.

Whilst the parents no longer utilise all services, in the last 6 years they have still attended Christmas parties, Lord Somers camp, and kept in touch with their Family Support Worker and the home volunteer they had for Charlotte, Moira.

Jamie feels passionately about being able to give back to Very Special Kids and has tried to stay involved as possible, including attending our Golf Day last year to talk to supporters about the services we offer.

“What Very Special Kids did for us was amazing and it kept us from spiralling downwards” he said.

His sister, Neroli, does a lot of her own fundraising and will be running with her daughter in the 24 Hour Treadmill Challenge this year, and he looks forward to attending to show support.

To help support families like the Padfield’s, support a runner at the 24 Hour Treadmill challenge by following this link: http://www.vsktreadmill.org.au/.