Children's hospice celebrates 20th anniversary

Rylee Flanagan, four, with his parents and sister Alyssa, five, at Zoe’s Place

A Teesside hospice caring for sick children has celebrated its 20th anniversary by reuniting youngsters with the staff who cared for them.

Zoe's Place in Middlesbrough, which offers respite care for children with complex conditions, also marked the occasion by opening a new playground.

Kim and Ben Senior’s daughter Chloe, now 14, received care at the hospice from the age of 12 weeks after being diagnosed with severe epilepsy.

They returned to be reunited with staff who cared for Chloe as a baby.

As a child, Chloe Senior received care at Zoe’s Place

Mrs Senior said: “Chloe was our first born and the dream you have with your new born turned out to be very traumatic. Coming here allowed us to feel we could cope and get through.”

Chloe, now 14, alongside her mum and a Zoe's Place staff member

The hospice, which opened in 2004, also gathered children together who are currently receiving care and their families.

Beth Bryan’s four-year-old son Rylee attends the centre, having suffered health problems and disabilities after being born prematurely.

She said: “Rylee comes here for respite and they also offer support to us as parents and to his older sister.

“Rylee’s disabilities are quite severe, we can’t just ask someone to babysit so coming here for respite means we don’t have to worry.

“It gives us some chill out time and we get to give his sister some one-to-one attention.

“They’ve really helped him to open up, it’s like his own little family when he comes here.”

The new outdoor play facilities are an addition to the six-bedroom hospice, which is a charity and costs about £1m a year to run.

The charity is named Zoe's Hospice after the Greek word 'Zoe' which means gift of life.

Ashleigh Rickards, the centre’s deputy head of care, said families travel from across the north-east of England to use its services.

She said: ”We’d still like to extend the care we are able to offer, knowing that we are a vital service to these families and we have a huge impact on these children’s lives.”