Ulster Rugby vs Cardiff Blues

We urgently need to raise £1.7

million to build, equip and run our new centre and tonight you can help by texting a donation or by giving to one of our

Mencap collectors around the stadium.

OFFICIAL CHARITY PARTNER 2014/15

Niamh’s Story

away at some stage. Her time at Segal House was precious.” “They brought her wee personality out. Before Segal House, Niamh didn’t really acknowledge me her mummy or Iggy as her daddy, but over time, with the love and care of her key workers, they drew her out and her response changed as Niamh’s personality shone through. That was just priceless. She really came out of herself when she was at the nursery. She began to vocalise, which was a very big thing for us, and she began to smile and it’s difficult to explain, but because of her condition, that smile meant everything to us.”

Oonagh MaGowan, whose daughter Niamh attended the Mencap Nursery, is full of admiration for the work of the Nursery Staff, she tells us, “Despite being so severely disabled the staff never defined Niamh by her disabilities. Through touch, taste and smell, the team found ways to help her blossom. They brought her wee personality out. She came on leaps and bounds. It took her a long time to smile and giggle and she did that beautifully.” Oonagh, who is from Belfast, saw a transformation in her daughter, Niamh, during her two years at the Mencap Nursery at Segal House, Niamh who is now seven, has a complex, life- limiting neuro disability. Oonagh lost her son, Conor, just before his fourth birthday in 2004 from the same condition. She said, “There is no diagnosis for Niamh’s condition. She is deaf and visually impaired and can’t interpret the world around her. She has a severe learning disability and is not mobile. She can’t talk and is fed by a tube. She also has epilepsy. It is a degenerative condition and Niamh is life-limited and that hangs over us, as we know she is going to pass

1. To donate £3 Text MENCAP to 70660 * 2. Give to a Mencap collector tonight 3. Go to www.mencapbigstepforward.org and donate or to find out more information about Mencap’s Big Step Forward Appeal *Texts cost £3 plus network rate with Mencap receiving 100% of your donation. Obtain bill payers permission. Customer care 02890 691351. Charity number 222377 STAND UP FOR MENCAP’S BIG STEP FORWARD APPEAL

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