Life changing

You make extraordinary things happen at a Manchester children’s hospital

Some of the Good Causes made possible by National Lottery players really bring home the impact of lottery funding.

You’ll find Songbirds musicians Ros and Mark on Ward 83 of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. There, they do some amazing work with early years children with long-term ventilation needs, and those functioning at an early years level due to acquired brain injury. Songbirds and Youth Music help children like Lydia develop musically, personally and socially.

Music brings families together

Lydia has a rare brain disorder that means she can’t walk or talk. She’s had to spend a lot of her life so far in hospital. Ros and Mark have been working with Lydia since she was just three months old and have helped her learn to communicate with her family through music.

“Songbirds has had a huge impact on our family,” says Lydia’s mum Ruth. “It helps us to connect with each other. We have all joined in music making with Mark and Ros. The mood changes when they arrive and I know they have had a big impact on other families too.”

Lydia loves life and music is a big part of that

When Lydia came out of her 48th operation, a nurse warned Ruth and dad Paul that their daughter would be “grumpy” after the anaesthetic. But then Ros and Mark arrived – “they always seem to come at the right time,” said Ruth.

“Lydia loves life and music is a big part of that,” says Ruth. “I don’t know how long we’ve got her for but at least when her time comes, we can say we gave her the best possible life.”

Youth Music, is a national charity that helps children and young people facing difficult challenges to develop musically, personally and socially. Songbirds is a music-making scheme supported by Youth Music and run by LIME Music for Health.

Lead image credit: rosfishmusic

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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