THE parents of a girl with severe epilepsy are thanking the hospice which helps care for their daughter by taking part in Dorset’s Rainbow Run.

Suzanne and Neil Fairclough from Sturminster Newton are participating in the charity run at Baiter Park this May to help raise funds for Naomi House.

Their 14-year-old daughter, Hattie, was diagnosed with hippocampal sclerosis at the age of 14 months. The condition causes Hattie to suffer from a severe and complex form of epilepsy, which has affected her development, speech and mobility.

Mrs Fairclough said: “The doctors didn’t know whether Hattie would live to be an adult. She has been on lots of drugs since the age of 10 months when she started having her seizures, which are life threatening.

“Hattie does wake up in the night, and we are very conscious that she may have a fit, which she does quite often.

“So, apart from when she is at Naomi House, I don’t really sleep through the night. It’s like having a new born baby, you can’t really switch off,” she added.

The couple have three other children and tried several times to go on holiday as a family, but it proved to be too difficult because of their daughter’s condition.

“The staff at Julia’s House told us about Naomi House who were able to provide overnight care, which was ideal,” Mrs Fairclough said.

“Naomi House allows us to have that quality time with the other children, but also gives us a break. It is constant; you constantly worry, because of the seizures, you worry in case Hattie is going to be aggressive towards anybody else, you worry that she is going to hurt herself.

“When she goes to Naomi House we can relax. They are so geared up for it and they know exactly what they are doing because they deal with it all the time.

“We wanted to start raising money for the people who have helped us and I saw the Rainbow Run advertised on the Naomi House website and thought it would be great fun,” she added.

During the 3k run, participants will be pelted with bucket loads of multi-coloured powdered paint along the route. The money raised will go towards the charity’s Caterpillar Appeal, to fully refurbish the Sutton Scotney hospice building.