Hertfordshire Freemasons donate £3,750 to help children suffering from life-limiting illnesses

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire is delighted to have donated £3,750 to Lifelites, a charity providing technology to British children suffering from life-limiting illnesses and disabling conditions. The donation will fund the purchase of an Eyegaze – a technology that enables children who cannot speak, to communicate, to play with their brothers and sisters, paint, or make music. All they have to do is move their eyes to express their wishes, fears, and thoughts.

One of the children who will significantly benefit from this new technology is a toddler named Lex. Lex almost died when he stopped breathing in his mother’s arms, had four heart attacks and a stroke. He has been diagnosed with a rapidly degenerative, neuromuscular genetic disease. This illness means Lex has to breathe through a tracheostomy tube and cannot talk easily.

However, he is extremely social, interactive, and smiles a lot. Lexi’s parents see how frustrated he gets when unable to express himself. ‘We can’t wait to see him using it – it will really change the way he’s able to interact.’ Lex is a patient of the Noah’s Ark hospice in London, one of the many institutions supported by Lifelites around the UK.

Provincial Grand Master of Hertfordshire, Paul Gower, said: ‘It is a privilege for us to enable Lifelites to provide Eyegaze for life-limited and disabled children using Noah’s Ark’s services. With our donation, we want to help these children to escape the confines of their conditions, and connect with their families in ways not possible before.’

Lifelites chief executive, Simone Enefer-Doy, said: ‘With the very generous donation from the Hertfordshire Freemasons for Eyegaze, we can give life-limited and disabled children the possibility to play with their brothers and sisters, and tell their parents they love them, sometimes for the first time.’