The mum of a “severely epileptic” toddler has pleaded to the public for donations towards funding life-changing private treatment.
19-month-old Tia Holt has been diagnosed with a severe complex epilepsy.
Before this recent diagnosis – which is said to have “drastically affected Tia’s lifestyle” – and after spending a total of 11 days in hospital, where she had seizures ongoing for seven hours in clusters, doctors at the Royal Blackburn Hospital had previously found Tia to have a combination of three types of epilepsy – including a rare form of Infantile Spasms – but are now at a loss of what to do going forward.
This has lead her mother, Chloe Cox, to make the vital decision to seek private treatment.
Speaking to The Lancashire Telegraph on the recent diagnosis, which “didn’t come as a shock” but was nevertheless “upsetting”, Miss Cox said: “We got an EEG put in place and [the doctors] came back that to say Tia had got worse with multiple types of epilepsy.
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“She has anything from 50 to 200 little episodes a day.
“It’s classed as a disability and it’s like looking after a baby because she cannot sit up or walk [so] it’s very hard”.
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She continued: “[Tia] was crying and screaming because they scare her and the doctors did not know what they could do to help her, so I found a private hospital where they have a dedicated specialist in epilepsy in children”.
Miss Cox has identified a specialist able to offer “life-changing” treatment to Tia at the Cheadle-based The Alexandra Hospital, but sadly, the costs – which start at £150 to £250 for the first appointment, with numbers tallying up as treatment plans and appointments continue – are not affordable for the mum alone, which is why she has launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise the funds needed.
“It just feels like we are back to square one.” Chloe added.
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“They still do not know if she will be able to walk, so we are just taking it day by day [but we haven’t] got months to wait [as] it could affect her brain”.
Although Chloe admits that Tia still continues to smile and laugh because “she is used to the seizures now”, she has said that her “biggest fear” is that the toddler will one day have a seizure that is so severe she “won’t be able to get her out of”.
Over £3,400 has been raised for Tia’s treatment via the GoFundMe page so far, which Chloe has said she is “so overwhelmed” by.
There is still some way to go before hitting the crucial £5,000 target, but Miss Cox has also made sure to say that as donations continue to rise, any extra funds that are raised above the target amount that is needed, will then be “donated to a children’s epilepsy charity… [to] help other children with this awful illness”.
Every penny counts, and all donations can be made here.
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd March 2021 
