Thankyou to
@DSAInfo
for featuring my article on Betsy's Rainbow unit today 🌈 It's so important to showcase good inclusion and the positive impact it can have on the lives of children with learning disabilities 😍
@Girlguiding
you should be so proud of this 😁
Betsy's mum told us about her experience of attending Rainbows. Betsy has collected an impressive number of badges & developed in so many other ways. All the result of the
@Girlguiding
unit being run in an inclusive way.
Read her story here:
Last week, at a hospital appointment, while taking my history, a nurse questioned why I hadn't terminated my pregnancy after my daughter was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome. The words 'risk of a Downs' were used. This is Betsy. The child she was referring to. Loving life ❤️
This morning my Betsy should be receiving an achievement award at school. I'm so incredibly sad that she can't attend due to her health 😔 Would anyone like to send a congratulations message to her for her award? She likes pictures of ducks in particular 🦆
Absolutely stunned that we're going to be taxed for selling on our children's used clothing, they have grown out of, at a loss, simply to try and make ends meet and buy them clothing that fits. The absolute state of the UK under the
@Conservatives
. Utter disgrace.
Today my 5 year old, Betsy, who has Down's Syndrome, performed 4 dances in her dance school's show at the theatre! She smashed it 🤩 So unbelievably proud of her and grateful to the staff and students who wrap her in support and love ❤️
#ThisGirlCan
#Inclusion
#LearningDisability
I've cancelled my gas and electricity Direct Debit. I cannot risk the energy company emptying my bank account and leaving me with no money to feed my family. Predicted bills are more than my entire annual income on Carer's Allowance.
#EnergyCrisis
#CarersAllowance
The Prime Minister ignored the laws we all obeyed. I went into hospital, with a suspected miscarriage alone. When I found out my baby had died, I was alone. When I was told I needed surgery I was alone. No friends or family could visit me at home. I will not forget or forgive.
I don’t work for the BBC so I'm free to say what I feel. The language used by Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, about refugees and migrants, is very similar to language used in Germany in the 1930s. It's a fact. RT if you agree.
This is hard to share.
I had a miscarriage in February.
As I was sitting in hospital, knowing my baby had died, the nurse interrogated me as to why I hadn't aborted Betsy.
The prejudice towards women like me is real.
Dawkins thinks we are 'immoral'.
Women deserve better.
Today is one of the darkest days for disabled people in living history. My heart is breaking for my community who have had our financial lifelines removed. There is no future for those of us who cannot work and therefore will have no income. Everyone is so frightened.
@UKLabour
I've just read a heartbreaking post from a carer who has to run medical equipment 24/7 to keep her child alive. Her energy bills have gone up so much she now won't be able to afford to. What are
@BorisJohnson
government going to do to help people in this situation?
Everyone happy with the government passing a bill to give them access to look at your bank account? But not at the bank accounts of those handed millions of pounds of taxpayer's money? If it looks like fascism and smells like fascism it is fascism.
#ToryCorruption
Did you know that
@BorisJohnson
's government have quietly changed the elegibility for Warm Home Discount? Disabled people will now NOT be allowed to claim it, despite being the section of people who have the highest energy usage. They're actively punishing us for being disabled.
Wow! Who knew that saying you felt uncomfortable that a plumber wasn't wearing a mask could attract so much abuse! Before you jump and attack me consider how little you know about my home circumstances and perhaps shut your mouth. I'm block happy today 😁
Ok so it seems that the vast majority of us weren't aware of the invasive bill the government are pushing through that gives them the right to look at our bank accounts. They did this very quietly. This includes pensioners, carers, anyone who claims child benefit. Most of us.
Absolutely delighted to hear that
@Jeremy_Hunt
is going to 'cure' my Myalgic Encephalomyelitis! What a genius. There is currently no cure for M.E but finally we have one in the form of stopping our benefits? I'll make sure to tell my consultant of this new development.
The Tories have destroyed our NHS.
A thread 🧵
My daughter was prescribed Clarithromycin late this afternoon by a GP. We couldn't get an appointment until 4.30 as there is a shortage of doctors due to government cuts. We had to drive to a different town. In freezing conditions.
This is Betsy. In her 3 short years she has raised over £5000 for a variety of charities. Donated a wig for a child with cancer from her own hair. Inspired gift packs for new mothers at our local hospital. Educated thousands about Down's Syndrome. What a contribution.
Just wanted to put it out there that if you agree with Professor Richard Dawkins that I am an 'immoral' woman for not killing Betsy because she has Down's Syndrome, you need to unfollow me now. Or even better, just block me, because I seriously don't want your hate in my life.
Betsy's in hospital. An ambulance brought us in earlier tonight and she's been admitted. She's struggling to breathe and is on oxygen at the moment. Still so polite and signing 'thankyou' to all the staff helping her, despite being so sick. Prayers welcomed.
£38,000 is the new threshold that a person needs to earn to immigrate here. Absolutely devastating. How many of us are going to have to say goodbye to friends when their Visas won't be passed on renewal? Not to mention the complete collapse of the NHS. Tories killing the UK.
I can't believe I've just seen an entire thread tearing down Jack Monroe. The most patronizing part is when the person explains you can't feed your family on £18 a week and that Jack's £20 shopping posts are fake. This person has never HAD to make £20 of food last. Privilege.
Molly-coddled rich boy who has trashed the NHS, increased poverty and hardship astronomically doesn't believe 'life worries' cause mental illness. The
@Conservatives
are vile. Waging war on the sick and disabled. The UK is going down a dangerous path.
Just to clarify. Carers, who the government say do a sterling job, in the absence of social care, are about to lose their right to privacy. We give up careers, try to live on £76.75 per week and now the government will scrutinize our bank accounts?!
I have now been waiting over 4 hours now for a clinician from 111 to call me back regarding an urgent prescription for my clinically vulnerable disabled daughter. This is not NHS staff's fault. This is the fault of
@RishiSunak
and his morally bankrupt government.
Absolutely stunned at this level of hate speech from
@JeremyVineOn5
. The answer is 'Yes' Jeremy. People who are unable to work because of their body preventing them, through no fault of their own, should not be left without an income, to starve and die. Not unreasonable.
Waking up today with a sense of dread about the
#AutumnStatement
. I feel physically sick at what this government are about to do to disabled UK citizens. We are portrayed as lazy, work-shy and a drain on taxpayer's money. This is hate speech from our own government against us.
If you have a child, the government are trying to push through a bill that will give them access to your bank account because you get child benefit. That's around 80% of the population. You happy with that? No right to privacy?
@SteveBarclay
this is what your government have done. My little girl. Vulnerable. Sick. You have failed her in the most cruel and callous way possible. This is on your head.
Roy was 27. He was autistic. He took his own life. Prior to his death Roy received continuous letters from the
@DWP
. His body lay in his apartment for 9 months before he was found 💔
Anyone else just absolutely ashamed to be British? Not only are we the laughing stock of Europe, over Brexit, our government accepted millions in Russian donations and we are now the country refusing to take refugees from Ukraine. Children fleeing war. Not in my name.
I can't describe how angry I am at how we are being treated by these corrupt politicians in government. My daughter's life is in their hands and they've cast it aside. They don't care if she lives or dies. If they did they wouldn't have destroyed the NHS we rely on to stay alive.
Here is my 6 year old daughter, Betsy, who has Down's Syndrome, demonstrating her impressive DIY skills, while helping build a new bed this morning 😁😁😁
@RishiSunak
this is how you use a hammer correctly 🔨
Today a lovely present arrived for Betsy in the post. A handmade quilt, designed especially for her, by Ann, a volunteer quilter, from Love Quilts. This wonderful organisation creates quilts for children with life-limiting disabilities. Thankyou so much
@LoveQuiltsUK
💜💜💜
When your body does not work as you need it to. When you are not able to earn money in order to feed, house and clothe yourself, you are in the most vulnerable position. A progressive society takes care of those who need support.
@Conservatives
have now made the UK a cruel place
Today Betsy lost her first tooth and tomorrow is her 6th birthday! It's been a busy week. So totally blessed to be her Mam. What a privilege 🙏
#DownSyndrome
#BirthdayGirl
#ToothFairy
Astounded that some have chosen to turn this into an abortion 'terms' debate. How dare you suggest that I shouldn't refer to my unborn baby with Down's Syndrome as a 'child'. Psychopathic.
Plumber arrived to look at leaking toilet. No mask as he doesn't have to wear one. I have no choice but to let him in as I need the leak fixed urgently. All I could do was keep Betsy in another room, open the windows and clean everything when he left. Felt so uncomfortable.
I donated bin bag of clothes to a charity shop today. Staff asked if I wanted to be a gift aider? I said 'I used to, but at the moment I'm a carer and don't pay tax'. She went 'Oooh must be nice eh!'. I just stared at her 👀 Aye it's grand living on £67 a week. Mint. Belta.
How many would know what this symbol means if someone has a tattoo of it? It's possibly the hardest thing to talk about. Where do you begin? Solidarity to everyone fighting every day to not end up back in that place.
When you finally get the email saying your school of choice has agreed formally to offer your daughter a place in preschool. Want to celebrate but the LA have stamped the life out of me over the past year. Please be happy for my Betsy going to school in January for us!
Betsy is going in to hospital tomorrow for urgent surgery to remove tonsils that are blocking her airway. Her breathing issues have become concerning and she has been sleeping upright in a pushchair to cope. She's being so brave and understands completely. Our tiny warrior 💜
Just spent a lovely few minutes deleting all the abusive comments on my Instagram posts.
What makes people feel the need to hunt out the family of a 3 year old girl with Down's Syndrome and scream vile prejudice at them?
These 'feminists' called Betsy 'A Down Syndrome'.
How about stopping subsidising parliamentary food and drink in Westminster? Now there's a controversial idea. MPs actually having to pay real prices to eat. And while we're at it, just ban all meal expense claims. It encourages a lack of responsibility for feeding themselves.
So, yesterday, I learnt that a lot of people were 🔥 triggered 🔥 by a little comment about how uncomfortable I felt, being around a stranger not wearing a mask.
I'll say it again though.
I felt uncomfortable that the plumber fixing the toilet leak wasn't wearing a mask.
Anyone else want to tell me that I am not allowed to say I was asked to kill my unborn baby? Feminists? Really? Unless you're a woman having a baby with a disability and then you must be silenced.
My daughter is a big fan of the pub in our village. Tonight she demolished an ice-cream sundae in approximately under a minute. Livin the dream this one 😍
Betsy was admitted to hospital today and is now on oxygen. They have tested for COVID and are doing bloods and chest xrays. Prayers would be appreciated.
Betsy got her antibiotics this afternoon. Overnight her chest infection had really taken hold and she's been very poorly today. She's got the medication in her system now though so we can but hope and pray it tackles the bacteria quickly. Thankyou for all the love and support ❤️
So the
@Conservatives
have now scrapped the role of Minister for Disabled People, Health & Work. I think this shows you everything you need to know about how committed the government are to disabled citizens. That's around 16 million of us. Extremely worrying.
#DisabilityRights
Continually blown away by how independent and confident my daughter is. Betsy walked tall into school this morning, happy to be back 😁 First day back. Smashed it.
#DownSyndrome
#WinningAtLife
Thankyou for all your kind messages of love and support for Betsy. We feel very cared for ❤️ She's exhausted this morning. They're going to give her steroids today, so hoping they help. We've had a few messages asking to send cards and she would love that 😍 Please just DM me.
Betsy went for her first visit to her new school yesterday. They are amazing. The headteacher just casually mentioned they're teaching her entire peer group Makaton at the moment to enable them to communicate better with her! Absolutely blown away. Couldn't ask for more 💛
I wish I had the opportunity to go and buy my daughter her little uniform for starting pre-school. Our village school made it clear she wasn't wanted because she's disabled and the council still haven't granted an EHCP to enable her to go elsewhere. Sadness is overwhelming today.
If we had been able to get an earlier GP appointment then we would have been able to ring back to get a different antibiotic prescribed. If we could see a GP at the walk-in. If the walk-in hours hadn't been cut. If A&E had more staff so waiting times were less. If only.
She sounded devastated. I then rang 111. I was on hold for 40 minutes. Why? Because they don't have enough staff to deal with demand. Due to government cuts. I finally spoke to someone who said a clinician would ring me back. I was warned that wait times are into the hours.
@Conservatives
I have spent hours reading messages from terrified friends. Although we all knew how our government views us, it is a shock to know that they are carrying out plans to strip us of any income. To know it's actually happening now is devastating. Disabled people left in the gutter.
Why? Because they only have 1 doctor on. Due to government cuts. This doctor is fully booked all night. The government closed this walk in from being 24 hours to now shutting at 10pm. The nurse said they would turn us away and redirect to A&E. In which there are horrendous waits.
@Conservatives
We have nothing left. If your body does not allow you to work, because it is sick then it's quite simple. You cannot attend interviews or a mandatory placement. Your income is stopped resulting in starvation and/or homelessness. This is the future for disabled UK citizens.
This little trooper has just successfully walked down the stairs, upright, holding onto my hand and the bannister! It might not seem much to a lot of you, but it is a massive achievement for Betsy to be able to bend her knees as she descends. Betsy perseveres. Betsy wins 🏅
The GP diagnosed my 5 year old, disabled, daughter with a nasty chest infection. She needs antibiotics urgently. We were given a prescription. I then drove for another 30 minutes to our own village pharmacy, who didn't have it in stock. Betsy has a history of pneumonia.
I am still waiting. My daughter has gone to bed without having the medication she needs. I can hope and pray that she gets through the night. That she doesn't wake up with pneumonia. That her lungs hold out.
I then decided that my daughter had been driving about in the cold too long and took her home. After this, I then drove to another town and went to a different pharmacy who also didn't have the antibiotics. A mother was sobbing at the counter saying 'He can't breathe. He's 7.'
Anyone else feel that the government have just stopped even pretending that they are governing the country in the best interests of citizens? Just ignoring appalling levels of poverty, health and crumbling services like it's not real.
#ToriesOut
My daughter was born with Down's Syndrome, very premature with multiple health conditions. I applied for Disability Living Allowance to help with the costs of meeting her health needs, hospital stays and equipment. The
@DWPgovuk
denied her any support. This is how they operate.
She couldn't get antibiotics either. I then asked my husband, family and friends to ring round pharmacies in the North East. While doing that I drove to another town to a different pharmacy who also didn't have it. There was another mother crying in this one. Her 2 year old.
Good morning 🌞 Are we all ready for another day of being insulted, bullied and having hate flung at us because we're disabled? Since Jeremy Hunt's announcements I have had an explosive rise hateful comments about people with M.E. I have been called lazy, a grifter, work-shy ...
Happy World Down's Syndrome Day! Betsy has Down's Syndrome. She also has approximately 27 unicorns. Awareness. Done.
Don't forget to wear your odd socks today and tag us in your pictures!
@KurtMarcECurtis
#WorldDownSyndromeDay
Richard Walker, CEO of
@IcelandFoods
, has publically announced his support for the unethical deportations, of asylum seekers, to Rwanda, on
@bbcquestiontime
. I won't use a company who support illegal human rights abuse. Pass it on 👍
#Mumsnotgoingtoiceland
We have been so, so careful. Took Betsy out of school. Wore masks. Stayed at home. Washed our hands. Despite this, my daughter and husband have now both tested positive for covid. I haven't, yet. They're both coping right now, thankfully, but I am very frightened.
So much judgement about SEN schools 😤 'If they can cope in mainstream why move them?' Errr because I don't just want my daughter to 'cope'. I want her to thrive! I want her to get the high level specialist teaching she needs to succeed. And now she will.
#SEND
Happy World Down Syndrome Day from me and wor Betsy. Betsy has Down Syndrome, a disability which presents her with challenges a typical child does not face. She is a warrior, coping with so much, and has my utmost respect. So proud, grateful and blessed to be her Mam 🙏
#WDSD2024
My family couldn't find it in stock anywhere. So I rang the switchboard of my local hospital trust and asked to be put through to the walk in centre. I was informed they probably wouldn't answer as they're understaffed. They did answer though. They told me not to bring her in.
This week has been tough. It's been a year since my baby died and I underwent traumatic surgery. It's been a year since that sonographer interrogated me as to why I hadn't had a termination when Betsy was diagnosed with DS antenatally.
Today we're going ballet dancing ❤️
Just wanted to say THANKYOU to the thousands of you for your support. The right to life of a person with Down's Syndrome should never be questioned simply because of a chromosomal variation. Betsy is meant to be here on this planet and nobody has the right to suggest otherwise.
Down Syndrome Awareness Month Day 3 🌞 Betsy like hats. Last year she insisted on wearing a straw hat to school every day. Here is Betsy sporting her Da's flat cap. Remember she is very Northern.
#TheLuckyFew
#LoveAlwaysWins
It's Betsy's 5th Birthday today 🎉 She fought to be here and has beaten the odds so many times. Every year is an achievement ❤️ If anyone fancies sending birthday wishes or duck pictures 🦆 to our little firecracker she would love that!
#DownsSyndrome
#ThisGirlCan
#BetsyBirthday
I had to call an ambulance for my 6 year old daughter, Betsy, on Saturday night after her breathing worsened. She's really poorly but being so brave with this horrendous virus. Very grateful to the staff at
@GreatNorthCH
for looking after her 🙏 Little warrior.
#DownSyndrome
When Betsy was born I was absolutely overjoyed to meet my beautiful little baby, if somewhat early! She was tiny at 3lb 7oz. I already knew she had Down's Syndrome 🙂 There was only happiness, love and joy on her arrival into this world. That is our truth.
#LoveAlwaysWins
Breakfast provided for patient but not parent carer. Parent carer can't leave child alone to go and buy themselves something to eat. Yet I see parents of typical children leaving their rooms to go to the shop? Another example of discrimination. We do need to eat.
Today is a significant day for us. After a meeting on Friday, we are now in a position to apply for a school place for Betsy. We have found an amazing, inclusive mainstream first school in a nearby seaside village. Today we apply for her place.
#DownSyndrome
@ChromosomesNews
And to the person who sent me a DM saying I can't possibly have got my wedding dress second hand. Wake up to your own privilege! I got it off eBay, second hand from a lady in Nottingham. I live on £67 a week and manage to do it ethically. Try it. It's fun.
To counteract the vitriol being spread about us, here is a photo of my beautiful daughter, Betsy, birdwatching on holiday 😍 I love her with every cell of my being. Is an individual human being and will not be defined by a medical model.
#NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
What is is about non-disabled people that makes them so averse to the word disability? I'm disabled. My daughter is disabled. M.E. is a disability. Down's Syndrome is a disability. Stop making us a derogatory word. Just stop. It's ok to be disabled. Millions of us are!
#WDSD24
@Danwhite1972
@KeeleyMP
@NadineDorries
@NadineDorries
did you actually respond with disgust, and shaking of your head, when presented with a question about how disabled people can survive the energy crisis? Perhaps you need to read your job description again.
You. Work. For. Us.
Please sign and share our
@WeAreCarers
petition to call for the government to provide financial aid to people who need to use energy to run medical equipment as a result of being disabled, or sick 🙏
Thankyou so much to everyone for your outpouring of love and ducks for Betsy 🦆 We've had a rough night last night with lots of tears 😭 Yesterday she did manage to eat a few carrot waffles and flipper dippers, which was the first meal she's had in 2 weeks.
#TeamBetsy
Tomorrow is B's first visit to meet her new teaching assistant for an hour in nursery. Nervous about being in a building with other people after months in the house alone 😣
It's so important that it goes well - B needs the support school provides. Picture because she's too cute.