A single mum struggling with her disabled daughter's energy costs says she is 'lying on a knife-edge' over soaring prices.
Single mum Adele Ingham is a full-time carer for her 13-year-old daughter Molly, who was diagnosed with Batten Disease three years ago and has no vision or motor skills.
Due to the severity of her illness, the teenager relies on specialist equipment which needs to be switched on at all times – meaning the family have seen their energy costs treble in recent months.
Adele, of Stalybridge, says the rising costs are a “massive constant worry” in her life and she is even losing sleep over the ordeal. “We’ve had to make cut backs on food and putting fuel in the car which sacrifices days out,” the 41-year-old said. “For me and Molly, we have the option of filling the tank and going out for the day or making sure we have enough money to cover the bills.
“Especially the trips out, that’s something that is so important because we don’t know how long Molly has left. This disease is very unpredictable.
“I have anxiety anyway so it’s really testing me and making me feel very anxious. I’m not sleeping very well and I’ve lost an awful amount of weight and I just feel sketchy a lot of the time.”
At home, the family have two wheelchairs, two ceiling track hoists, a through-floor lift, two suctions machines, an electric bed and electric chairs which take 12 hours to charge. Molly’s bed sheets need to be washed twice a day, meaning Adele also relies on a tumble drier.
“We do have Sky TV because Molly has lost her eyesight with this disease,” Adele continued. “All she has is her hearing and with Sky and being able to access Disney and all the things she used to love, she can remember from when she was able to see and enjoy life like every other child her age.
“Molly doesn’t have anything else. She can’t play with toys anymore or walk around, it’s something really paramount in order to keep her going. If we didn’t have the internet or Sky TV, she would live in a world of silence and darkness. I don’t think people realise – it's just so hard.
“I can put a movie on that she loved when she was five when she was perfectly healthy and she will still laugh at the same points. It shows to me that she is still all there, she’s just not able to express it.
“You’re just lying on a knife-edge all the time. I just think people need to realise that there are other things that are really important to disabled families, not just gas and electric.”
