A COUNTY charity ended 2017 on a high note after a mammoth year of fundraising and support from Hereford Times readers.

We launched our Project Chrysalis campaign back in March with the aim of raising £35,000 – enough to cover the costs of one year’s conductive education at Megan Baker House for 10 youngsters.

Over the course of the year we've published real stories from real families about the very real life-changing difference the charity, based near Leominster, makes to the lives of disabled children.

And thanks to your efforts, we are now just £5,000 short of the target as we go into the new year.

Lee Gough, chief executive at Megan Baker House, said: "Over the past nine months I have submitted stories – testimonials from many of our parents as their words can say far more about the work we do and its value to them than we ever can.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported us and I do hope you will continue to do so.

"Without the support of the community and charitable trusts, we would not be able to help so many families to look forward to a more optimistic future.

"We need to find £400,000 per year and with increases in diagnosis, medical intervention at birth and awareness of MBH, there will always be a need for our services.

"Every penny raised goes directly into delivering the service and taking more children from our ever present waiting list."

Six-year-old Amelie Morgan is one of those children to have received life-changing help at Megan Baker House.

To those who don't know her, she appears to be a typical healthy child. But she has Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a rare genetic disorder which means she already suffers, or is likely to suffer from, a range of problems.

These include short stature and very low muscle tone; learning difficulties and poor speech development; severe behavioural problems; obsessive compulsive symptoms; skin picking and difficulty controlling emotions.

The disorder also causes a high pain tolerance so life-threatening conditions that would cause severe pain in most people may go undetected as well as hyperphagia, the constant feeling of starvation, causing Amelie's diet to be strictly controlled to avoid morbid obesity. Other symptoms are sleep apnoea, scoliosis, osteoporosis and infertility.

Geoff and Karen Walsh, Amelie's grandparents, take her from her home in Ross-on-Wye to Megan Baker House for her once weekly morning session.

They said: "Until Amelie began attending MBH, we had never heard of conductive education or of the amazing benefits it can bring to people like Amelie.

"Many everyday motor skills that come naturally to her brothers were beyond Amelie and it is these skills that she is learning at MBH. It is wonderful to collect her after her session and to hear from her the new skills she has practised, such as walking up and down stairs unaided, balance exercises, breath control, puzzle solving and much more.

"She adores the staff, who are all so committed to improving her life. She talks fondly about them on the journey to Leominster and then tells us how good they had been on our journey back to Hereford for her afternoon school session.

"As grandparents, it is a delight to know that our granddaughter is learning essential skills in such a caring and professional environment that is Megan Baker House."

To help us reach our total and help other children like Amelia:

Visit justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/meganbakerhouse/projectchrysalis

Send a cheque to Megan Baker House, Moreton Eye, Leominster,

HR6 0DP

Call the charity on 01568 616179 to arrange a BACS transfer