The parents of twins boys who have spent their entire lives in hospital have been delighted with the news they will be allowed home in time for Christmas.
Brothers Carter and Deacon Farnworth have finally been discharged from hospital.
The two-year-old twins – from Leigh in the Greater Manchester borough of Wigan – have sadly been unable to live at home since birth due to their various complex health conditions.
They were born prematurely in September 2018 and suffer from congenital myopathy – a rare muscle disease which causes the muscles to weaken and waste away – meaning the boys are fed through tubes, need 24/7 support from ventilators, and require constant care to manage their posture and positioning.
But now, thanks to ground-breaking specialist equipment, the twins will get to spend Christmas at home for the first time ever.
Parents Melissa Anderton and Dean Farnworth said their homecoming had “saved Christmas”.
It’s all thanks to Newlife – a charity supporting disabled and terminally-ill children across the UK that delivers loan equipment within just 72 hours and can approve “fast-track” equipment grant applications within 24 hours when an emergency situation has been identified – which has provided the family with an emergency loan of specialist cots.
The boys’ mother, Melissa Anderton, said: “It’s just amazing, it means everything – it’s our best Christmas and that’s all I can explain it as. The specialist cots from Newlife have allowed us to be one as a family, we don’t know what we would have done without them.
“Carter and Deacon being able to come out of hospital meant so much, it saved our Christmas.
“The P Pod chairs have been a godsend. Now the twins can move around the house and be included and take part in things altogether as a family, we can all sit together and relax and spend quality time together knowing that Carter and Deacon are comfortable and happy.
“It’s been very stressful and there has been a lot of strain on the relationship, but it’s been good to experience the things we have because that’s made us who we are now.”
Now, the family are looking to give back ahead of the festive season.
After it was revealed that Newlife has lost more than £3 million in income due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Farnworth’s are urging others to donate to change another child’s life this Christmas by backing the charity’s The Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign.
Any money raised through the challenge will provide essential equipment to disabled and terminally ill children who are in desperate need of support through the charity’s Emergency Equipment Loan service, and what’s more is that between 1st – 8th December, all donations will be doubled too.
Newlife is determined to help those families in need.
Sheila Brown OBE – co-founder and CEO of Newlife – said: “It’s been a really difficult six months for Newlife after the coronavirus forced us to shut all of our shops in March and again in October. We lost more than £3m in income but our promise of supporting disabled children across the UK has not been compromised and we’ve been there for families when they need us most.
“A lot of the disabled children who need our help are at most risk of the effects of COVID-19 and right now they need us more than ever.
“Newlife wants to be there for future families who need specialist equipment and we can’t thank Carter and Deacon and family enough for backing our Big Give Christmas Challenge this year. It’s a fantastic way to make your donation have double the impact and we’re hoping our wonderful supporters will be able to dig deep this year.
“Regardless of the size of the donation, your generosity will be directly changing the lives of disabled children and their families across the UK who are in urgent need of our support.”
___
You can make donations to The Big Give Christmas Challenge via the Newlife website here.
Trending
A charity match is being held in memory of late footballer Joe Thompson
Danny Jones
A fundraising match is being held in memory of late footballer and charity champion, Joe Thompson, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
The former Manchester United academy product and Rochdale AFC legend famously faced a long battle with cancer, being sadly diagnosed with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma for the first time back in 2013, being forced into a prolonged period off the pitch and, eventually, early retirement by 2019.
Bath-born Thompson, who also played for Bury at the end of his career, was tragically struck by the illness on three different occasions; after stage four lymphoma spread to his lungs, he sadly died this past April at the age of just 36.
Just the most heartbreaking story, but in honour of Joe’s life, the two clubs closest to his heart and which she shared the strongest connection to are now set to remember him in a special charity game next month.
Announcing the game via social media on 26 July, Rochdale AFC confirmed it will be hosting the fundraising friendly between the Greater Manchester National League outfit and Man United’s under-21s.
Writing on the club website, Rochdale said: “Both clubs will come together to remember Joe, who meant so much to both Dale and United, on Saturday, 2 August (3pm kick-off).
“A minute’s applause will take place before kick-off, whilst members of Joe’s family, who will be in attendance, are selecting some of his favourite music to be played in the build-up to the game.
“Shirts from the match will also be auctioned off post-match, with proceeds going to Joey T’s Foundation when integrated.”
Detailing how his boyhood club have recently introduced the official ‘Joe Thompson Award’, presented to players who have the traits of not just a United person but, more importantly, Joe: “resilience, honesty, integrity, humility, innovation and a relentless work ethic, with a focus on the community.”
He was a truly inspiring individual.
Even after hanging up his boots, he kept moving for a good cause.
With all this in mind, Rochdale will be a charity exhibition match against United’s U21s squad – a team of players who are around Joe’s age when he left The Cliff to join Rochdale.
The club went on to add that all future fixtures between the clubs from now on will include a special trophy, with the first being the National League Cup match, which is due to be staged at their Crown Oil Arena home ground on 21 October.
As for this touching and heartfelt fundraising fixture, once again, the game will take place on Saturday, 2 August, kicking off at 3pm.
You can find out more details about the ‘A Game For Joe’ charity match in aid of the Thompson family’s foundation and grab your tickets HERE.
Lidl is giving away £10 vouchers to celebrate the England Women’s Euro 2025 win
Thomas Melia
To celebrate England Women’s football team winning UEFA Euro 2025, Lidl is giving away £10 off vouchers to lucky customers.
The supermarket retailer is celebrating England women’s football team’s historic second-consecutive win by giving away £10 vouchers to members who sign up to the Lidl Plus app.
After securing their second Euro victory, the Lionesses have brought home the gold for England, and also scored us money off our next shopping trip – get in.
Titled ‘The Triumphant Tenner’, the German-founded supermarket has launched its latest campaign after the Euro 2025 result, exclusively on its Lidl Plus app.
Lidl has celebrated the Lionesses Euro 2025 victories before, as it gave away £2 off vouchers to 15,000 fans after our ladies scored two goals against Sweden in last Thursday’s match.
The retail giant even gave a free sweet treat to 50,000 Lidl plus app customers from its much-loved bakery after the Lionesses secured their place in the final.
Now, to celebrate the Euro 2025 win, Lidl is giving 100,000 football fans 25% off fruit, as well as 2,025 vouchers for £10 off your next shop.
This isn’t the first time that England Women’s football team have brought home the Euro trophy after beating Germany in the final back in 2022.
It’s also not the first time Forward player Chloe Kelly has led the Lionesses to victory scoring the winning goal at both Euro championships in 2022 and 2025.
The ex-Manchester City Women’s, now Arsenal, star is definitely proud of the team’s achievement, as in a post on the UEFA Women’s Euro account, she cheers: “The first time was so nice, we had to do it twice”.
If you fancy 25% off fruit and a chance to win £10 off your next shop, enter code ‘CHAMPS2025’ into your Lidl Plus app can find more information via their app and online HERE.
Featured Image – England Women’s / FA Communications via Supplied
Emily Sergeant -
2nd December 2020 
