Welcome to Face The Future

Our Goal

Our Founders Alison and Gary Lane set up this charity almost four years ago as a result of losing their youngest son Jake at the age of three. Jake, like most three year olds was happy, friendly, full of fun and mischief and of course a handful. Jake had Treachers Collins Syndrome and required a tracheotomy tube to help him breathe.

Jake spent a lot of his time at Great Ormond Street Hospital having various operations in his three short years. Some of our volunteers still visit and offer support to many of the children.

These are a few of the aims of the charity

• Support families
• Give care to children with facial physical needs
• holidays by the seaside

The charity has a small group of volunteers, who over the past Eight years through various events have managed to raise approximately £40,000.00, which has enable us to buy our very first caravan in Selsey at White Horse Bunn Leisure Holiday Village, this is a family three-bedroom caravan. The caravan park offers swimming pools, restaurants, bars, health club and relaxing parkland settings.

We have also been able to send 2 families to Disney Land in Florida, America, and hope to be able to continue to do this on an annual basis.

If you have a child who has any facial abnormalities, we would like to hear from you.

We would like to offer you and your family the chance to enjoy a weeks holiday at our caravan park free of charge. Obviously this will be subject to availability.

Executive Commitee

When Jake was born, all we knew is we were having a baby boy. I started getting contractions 5am Gary and myself took Jason to school and then went to the hospital. At 12.05 Jake was born 5 doctors and 3 midwives were in the room. I didn’t know there was a problem. I said where is my baby, they said he has problems breathing and has small ears. I needed to see him. My husband was in tears I needed to know what was going on. They eventually gave me Jake for a while to hold I cried and said my baby, he looked like an alien. He was taken off me and put into NICU. He was put onto oxygen with a tube near his face, they couldn’t put an NG tube down so they put one in his mouth and down his throat, to feed him. He was there for 10 days we were told that he might have a syndrome called Treacher Collins but they weren’t sure.

He was transferred to GOSH and it was confirmed that he had Treacher Collins Syndrome, they were concerned about his breathing. He underwent his 1st operation and had his treachy put in, but he still couldn’t make a noise. Then our lives really changed as we had to learn everything, become doctors and nurses ourselves and even Jason who was 5 learnt how to suction Jake.

Jake came out of GOSH April 20th and feeding was very hard as Jakes chin was small and he had no airway in his nose. He soon had to have a feeding tube fitted into his tummy, a gastrostomy tube.

At home with no help apart from my family it was hard, very hard. It put a lot of pressure on our relationship and it was hard even just taking Jason to school. People would stare if I had to suction him. People didn’t say anything to me, but some people did avoid me!

At 10 months we eventually got rest bite 10 hours a week. It helped a bit, but was a bit late in coming. Jake had had about 10 more opperations by this time and we were in and out of GOSH. That was the only hospital we trusted as we even had to train the local hospital up ourselves in treachy care.

Things started to get a little easier or may be we just got use to every thing that was happening. Jake was getting on very well in his development and hearing as he had a hearing aid now and a speaking valve. He came everywhere with us and we started to go to toddler groups and mix with others.

Some children would cry and seem frightend by jakes appearance but others were fine. I carried on like Jake was a normal baby (as he was) and people and their children soon saw that too, it just took time.

Jake started playschool when he was 2 years 8 months and we use our rest bite so he could attend 2 mornings a week. But as time went on after Christmas Jakes rest bite nurse said the other children weren’t mixing very well with him and his teachers didn’t seem to help either. So I look him into another play school and found Jack and Jill. It was fantastic he had a one to one special needs teacher and they loved him for who he was not what he had.

After more visits and operations, 24 in total, Jake passed away. It shouldn’t of happened as Jakes life span should have been the same as ours, but we were blessed with the time we had and loved every minute of it, though it was hard sometimes. I wish now people would look past the cover and look inside as that’s were it counts and some things aren’t what they seem.

JAKE'S POEM

My name is Jake
I was a young boy of three when God took me away
From my family
I really do miss my Daddy and Mummy
I never tasted food, I was fed through my tummy

Now I'd like to give you some clarity,
My family have set up a charity
We want to help children have lots of fun
Be it days out, just playing, or having fun in the sun

We need you to help raise lots of money
So please can you help my Mummy and Daddy
Their wish is to help young children like me
and give help and support to their families

So if you could help, it would be really kind
I am sure if you look closely, you could find
some money to help childrens' dreams come true
and bring joy and happiness in all that we do

Show Your Support

Pease make a dontation, to help these children's dreams come true.

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