THE FAMILY of a little girl who cannot eat, talk or walk, appeared on a popular television show to receive the surprise of their lives last weekend.
Seven years ago Christine Bennett, 32, gave birth to Isabella, who suffers from a rare chromosome condition.
Although she can now giggle, Isabella cannot talk or see, suffers from epilepsy and has two holes in her heart, meaning that she requires round-the-clock care – care that Christine and her partner Tony must provide on a constant basis.
On Sunday, Christine and Tony appeared on the popular ITV show, Surprise Surprise, after Christine secretly nominated her partner.
Police officer Christine said: "I nominated Tony just because when we met he was only 21, so he was really young to have taken on so much and over the years he has made a lot of sacrifices for us."
Christine wrote to the programme because she wanted to thank him for his support, as well as for his fundraising efforts to help pay for Isabella's crucial – but expensive – treatment in America.
"The NHS in this country don't fund one-to-one physiotherapy for children, so at the moment we fund it all ourselves," said Christine.
"We were paying £1,000 a month but we have had to reduce that to half, but in America they have pioneering physiotherapy, speech and feeding specialists. The problem is that everything in this country is based on cost."
As a result of Isabella's debilitating condition, from which only three other children in the world are known to suffer, Tony, who is also a police officer, spends much of his spare time fundraising for Isabella's treatment, which the couple hope will eventually enable her to eat and speak.
In April he plans to row the 150-mile length of the Thames with a friend in just five days.
Tony, 26, said: "Myself and Nick have never kayaked before in our lives and we bought these two old kayaks from eBay, which were three or four years older than ourselves. We didn't even know if they would float."
But when Tony, who had been "lured to London under a false pretence" by his fiancée, was put under a television spotlight, presenter Holly Willoughby surprised him with brand new kayaks, equipment and clothing.
"When they gave me the equipment it was absolutely amazing.
"I was in such a daze but I couldn't be more grateful."
He jokingly added: "But considering I'm getting married to Christine in January, I have just found out what a good liar she is, which is quite worrying."
And while Tony was delighted, unbeknown to Christine, the show's producers had also arranged for the family to have a four-week stay at the specialist centre in America next year.
"It's such a massive chunk of money that we need to raise to get her out there, so it's a real weight off our minds," said Tony, who added that £800 had been donated just a couple of hours after the show was aired.
While the programme has helped a significant amount, the couple, who aren't eligible for many of the state entitlements because they work full-time, the fundraising must continue.
"At the moment our house isn't suitable for Isabella," said Christine. "We don't have lifts or hoists and we think we need about £30,000 just to get her a downstairs bedroom. We can't physically afford it but we have no choice."
The family plan to go to America for ten weeks next September, but in the meantime they will continue to rely on their own hard work and other people's generosity in a bid to change Isabella's life.
To contribute to Isabella's cause, go to: www.isabellas fund.co.uk
