Telethon 2021: Hannah’s House kids all smiles after cuddly animal visit

Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm had some very special visitors this week.

It was smiles all round as the children from Hannah’s House — an organisation supporting kids with life-limiting and complex conditions — played with the bunnies and cuddled the guinea pigs on Wednesday.

“Everyone had a great time,” said Patricia Ilchuk, the mum of 15-month-old Manna.

The little girl has CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a genetic disorder that causes seizures, developmental delay and intellectual disability. She’s also legally blind.

“She was just five weeks old when she had her first seizure,” Ms Ilchuk said. “We stayed for a few months in hospital trying to work out the cause. The genetic results showed it was a gene deficiency.”

Telethon-funded Hannah’s House provides the Ilchuk family with some much needed support.

“Hannah’s House have a support worker who comes to our home once a week,” Ms Ilchuk said. “It gives me time to do the things I need to do, like the shopping and chores. It means I can spend some time with my son, who’s three.

“That’s really special for us ... to be surrounded by all of this support is amazing.”

The organisation wants to provide these children and their families with “care, comfort, and joy”, Hannah’s House chief executive Jonine Collins said.

“Life-limiting conditions are those for which there is often little hope of cure and from which children or young people will often die before adulthood,” she said. “This is devastating for families and friends, and requires listening, responding and working with families in providing the right care at the right time.”