A mum said she has not alternative but to sleep in a single bed with her little boy to make sure he comes to no harm. Kaylan Gibson is six-years-old and is disabled.
His mum, Kayley, has described the bed her son has to sleep in as a "death trap." Fearing for his safety, Kayley said she has been sharing the bed with her son to make sure he is safe each night.
Kaylan has cerebral palsy and has suffered a burst lip and narrowly avoided becoming stuck in his fully-adjustable adult hi-low bed, as well as falling out of it. After initially under the impression Kaylan would be provided with a more suitable bed for his needs, the family's hopes have since been dashed following a meeting with social workers, ChronicleLive has reported.
Kayley and dad Jordan Gibson been told they will not be provided with a specially designed Oasis cot bed, with high, padded sides. The family claim they were told by an occupational therapist that receiving such a bed looked promising.
Kayley, from Pelton, County Durham, said: "I feel betrayed. Disappointed and betrayed. I literally cried throughout the whole meeting but the response I got was 'Do you not think you're just sleep deprived? I think you need to get a good night's sleep.'
"How can I do that? When you share a bed with a child who has so many needs you're scared to go to sleep in case you hurt him."
Kaylan, who was born premature and has cerebral palsy, is unable to walk or manage day to day tasks. He also has ADHD, autism and has sensory overload. Kaylan also has Hydrocephalus - fluid on the brain.
Kaylan now requires a a hi-low profile bed, as well as a bed that would prevent him from falling or injuring himself after undergoing further surgery for his range of medical needs. Kayley, 25, said: "We were stuck and needed a bed ready for Kaylan coming out of hospital which resulted in an adult high profile bed which he has already banged his mouth, head and body off and caused him, and also us as parents, to be distressed and anxious due to not having a suitable bed."
The mum-of-one added that the corners of Kaylan's current bed are too sharp and when she raised this with the family's occupational therapist she was told to "put bubble wrap around the bed".
She added: "I just said 'Can you be serious? This is a safety hazard for a child to suffocate'. She then tried to ring me and said that the only thing we could really do was to put bubble wrap around until we got a suitable bed for him, which is not acceptable at all from a 'professional' in charge of Kaylan's needs." Kayley claims she was told she would not be receiving an Oasis cot bed because the bed would be "enclosing Kaylan" and it's "against County Durham rights".
But Kayley and Jordan, 26, said the bed will be better for him due to his reduced mobility and sight. Kayley said: "No one was there to back my corner and three of the professionals who were in the meeting hadn't even seen the bed that we need for Kaylan so I couldn't even try to sell it to them. I gave the occupational therapist a list of pros and cons to read out and she didn't even read one of them out.
"Two of them in the meeting hadn't even met Kaylan before either. They didn't know what his mobility or his mental state was like and were just going off what other people have said. My heart sank. I thought we're just going to have to get up and fight ourselves for this bed."
Kayley and Jordan have set up an online fundraiser on JustGiving to try and raise £8,500 to get Kaylan a bed they believe will be the most suitable for his needs. You can donate by going to here.
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