The family of a County Armagh schoolgirl who has suffered more than 20 fractures in her six short years are staging a fundraiser in support of a charity which has been there for them every step of the way.
Sophie Turkington plans to run a Vinted Live Event & Coffee Morning, in aid of the Brittle Bone Society, in Tartaraghan Parish Hall on Saturday, October 24, from 10am until 2pm.
She and husband Mark were told their daughter, Georgie, had been diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta – more commonly known as brittle bone disease – when she was just 16-months-old.
Sophie told Armagh I: “We didn’t know she had it. She just had a small fall and they realised then there was something when she broke her leg in three places, so that was when we first found out. It just sort of took off from there.
“Georgie is six now, but she’s had well over 20 breaks and five surgeries in her time.”
Despite this, the couple – who also have a five-month-old son, Joey – are amazed by Georgie’s positive outlook on life and the courage she has shown day after day.
“She just gets up and gets on with it,” added Sophie. “She never complains.
“She had a fall last Tuesday and she’s broken three bones in her back. She’s back in a wheelchair at the minute, but it’ll not take her long.
“She has a lot of determination and she’s very resilient, so she’ll get up and get going again. There’s not much holds her back.”
Georgie, a pupil at Birches Primary, has had to endure so much but remains totally upbeat, a typical bright and bubbly child, popular with teachers and her schoolfriends too.
Her family are so proud of her and want to do all they can to protect Georgie while recognising she needs to be allowed to be the little girl that she is.
“If we could wrap her in cotton wool we would, but you have to let her live too, don’t you?,” added Sophie. “She knows herself now what she can do and what she can’t do, but there is a lot of just keeping an eye on her now.
“She does know herself, which is very good. She’s got to that age where she’s well aware. She’s near happy to use her wheelchair most of the time too, because it’s her surroundings as well and other people – if they knock her down, she knows the consequences really.”
Georgie’s Girls’ Brigade at Tartaraghan Presbyterian Church have previously undertaken fundraising for the Brittle Bone Society.
This, meanwhile, will be the family’s first such event and Sophie believes it is the perfect occasion to hold it.
“It’s a good time now, I thought, for people to get rid of anything they needed coming up to Christmas or for people to buy stuff as well,” said Sophie.
“We’re having the coffee morning and Vinted Live event, where people are paying for a table and are then able to sell anything they want really, toys or clothes or anything.
“The support has been very good. I have had a lot of people interested in tables.
“At the minute it’s going to be a one-off, but some people have been saying they’re not going to be able to make it on the Saturday, so if it was a success, then I would think about doing another one.”
Everyone is invited to come along and show their support, with all proceeds raised going to the Brittle Bone Society, a very worthy cause which has been invaluable to Georgie and her parents too.
“The charity is very good,” said Sophie. “We’re in hospital a lot of the time and they send out wee packs and things for children that are in for overnight stays. Georgie would be in a lot getting treatment with her breaks and they’re there for anything you need.
“The lady that runs the charity, we’re talking back and forth, and there’s wee groups on Facebook. If there’s anything that’s needed, they’re there for us and they’re always very good.”
If you would like to take a table at the sale, at a cost of just £10, you can phone or text Sophie on 073 9580 6040. If you don’t wish to take a table, do still come along – there’s bargains to be had, refreshments too, and a warm welcome awaits one and all!
