An incredible eight-year-old girl helps her mum care for her two older siblings, both of which are disabled. Ivy Stedman helps take care of Kate and Harry at their home.
Kate, aged 17, has Harry, 10, lives with a rare kidney disorder called Bartter Syndrome. He also has Global Development Delay, ADHD, and hearing and speech issues.
Ivy's mum Ellie Hepburn-Coates says her daughter is close with her older sister Kate and shares a room with her. Ivy spends a lot of time helping to care for her, and helping her brother and sister with the chores.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Ellie who lives in Plymouth with her six children, said: “Ivy will spend time listening to Kate read her stories and also suggesting things that could happen. She encourages Kate, which is hugely important. Kate's Aspergers means she becomes very focussed on things she wants to do, and things like tidying and sorting her laundry are quite hard for her."
She said that Harry suffers with communicating, and Ivy is learning Makaton - a language programme that uses a mixture of symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. Ivy also helps with he is physically unwell, taking his temperature and using a SATS monitor to check his oxygen levels and pulse rate.
“Ivy is very interested in medical issues and how the body works. She has said that she wants to be a pediatrician when she's older so that she can help children like Harry,” Ellie said.
When Ivy was seven, she wanted to find a support group for other children her age in the same situation. It came after the family's local support group, Plymouth Young Carers, only catered for children over the age of eight, meaning Ivy was not immediately able to attend.
It wasn't until she had a Zoom meeting with the Siblings and Young Carers Group hosted by national disability charity Sense, called an Introduction to Parliament, that she learned about the workings of local council and decided to write a letter to her local MP. Ivy penned a letter to Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer asking for more support for young carers and has prompted him to look at improving awareness around the assistance available.
“She has also been learning about her rights through school, in association with Unicef," Ellie said. "They learn about how they have the right to good healthcare and to give their opinion.” Ivy told Mr Johnny Mercer in her letter that she wasn’t getting enough support and said she wished there was a support group she could join, to be around other kids who understood her struggles.
The eight-year-old told the Mirror that it was exciting to have had the MP respond to her letter. “I remember coming out of school and mummy was outside and she was holding a letter on her hand, and I didn’t know what it was. We opened it up together," Ivy said.
“Johnny Mercer looked into it and he said he noticed that the young carers group only started from age 8, so Ivy would have to wait until her next birthday," Ellie added.
"But then someone in his office got in touch with Barnardos and Ivy got some one-to-one support both at school and at home," Ellie said. She was able to talk about what it’s like to be a young carer and until Ivy got to the age of 8, they were able to offer her that much-needed support."
A spokeswoman from Mr Mercer's office said Ivy's letter was "just brilliant". "The fact that a 7 year old had taken the time and initiative to send him a handwritten note (including a wonderful drawing of her family) really stood out."
The spokeswoman said Mr Mercer worked closely with the local authority, including the Council Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, so was able to move quite quickly.
"His focus going forwards is making sure schools and GPs are aware of what support is out there and know how to access that. His shifts in GP surgeries and weekly visits to local schools give him an ideal opportunity to do that."
Since turning eight, Ivy had been attending the local support group where she played football, did crafts and spent time with other young people who dealt with similar family issues. “It’s that space for Ivy to do something that’s just for her, which doesn’t involve her siblings," Ellie explained.
"As much as we love Harry and Kate, a lot of our attention is on them, but this group gives you your own time with other children who face the same challenges." Ivy said: “The best thing is that we all know we’ve got the same things going on. We get to spend time together which is really nice.”
Late last year Ivy won Sense's Young Sibling of the Year award for her advocating for carers' support and next planned to campaign for the government to tackle the issues facing the
