Edinburgh mum gets on her marks to raise funds for Capability Scotland

An Edinburgh Mum has an extra special reason for getting fit this Mothers' Day.

Helen from South Edinburgh is running her first 10K in May to raise funds for Capability Scotland.  Capability has been supporting Helen and her family since her son Ben was born less than a year ago.

Ben was born with brain damage last May.  The prognosis was bleak and doctors told Helen he would be severely disabled. In the following days and weeks Helen wasn't sure where to turn.  She said: "I felt completely blown away by the news and drained from the many gloomy meetings with healthcare professionals."

Fortunately, it was at this point that she came across Capability Scotland's Westerlea Early Years Service, which is based in Edinburgh.  The Westerlea team were able to offer Helen and her family (husband Brian and toddler David) support, advice and access to a range of activities such as hydrotherapy and music therapy which helped Ben's development.

Helen said: "The Westerlea team were un-phased by the term 'brain damage'.  Instead they focused on all the positive activities that Ben could do.  Over the last few months they have been working with him they have done an amazing job.  Ben has already surpassed the doctor's expectations and is doing really well.  He is a happy little boy and he loves going to Westerlea."

"Even when Ben developed a severe form of epilepsy, which set back his development, the Westerlea team remained positive and said they would just have to work even harder - which is what they did."

"It is hard to put into words just how much Westerlea has meant to me and my family. The positive attitude of everyone there has given us so much strength.  I don't know what we would have done without them."

Capability Scotland's Children's Services Manager, Eric Mitchell, said: "We are delighted to support Helen, Ben and the rest of the family.  Early intervention can make a huge difference in the development of a disabled child and it has been wonderful to see how much Ben has achieved since we started working with him last year.  We are really pleased that Helen is running the 10k to raise money to help Capability's Westerlea Early Years Service reach out to even more families in the future."

If you would like to help Capability Scotland support other families like Helen and Ben you can donate online or call 0800 980 5331.