Respite Break Grants

Here pictured we have two happy brothers enjoying their break in Cyprus. Mum told us, ‘thank you for your generosity and help in getting the grant. Thanks to you, we were able to have lovely and amazing family holiday in Cyprus and money from you helped with paying for the flights. We had the best time!!!! Thank you!!!’

Mum told us about their amazing time in Cyprus, ‘Thank you sooooo much for our grant, it really helped. I wouldn't have been able to afford to go away. And thank you to all the hard-working fundraisers, I wish I could give you all a big cuddle!’

Mum told us, “The holiday means a week in the sun with the security of family around us, and hopefully some precious memories to share for the future.”

Holidays benefit children with CF in many positive ways. Not only do they get a break from the exhausting daily task of physio by keeping active in ways they don’t mind such as swimming in the pool or digging sandcastles but they also benefit from the warm sea air. Children with CF are advised not to play in soil because of the bacteria it harbours but they can play in sand by the sea-side which can give a sense of freedom to both kids and parents.

Mum told us “We had a fab time at Bluestone. They had a wonderful firework display for Bonfire Night, and the kids had the best time in the pool and meeting the Elves! They went tree-climbing, jeep driving, beach wandering, sheep petting, penguin viewing and giraffe feeding! It will be a holiday to remember!”

This young man used his £350 grant for a trip to London. He saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and paid a visit to the famous Hamley’s toy store.

Trip to Disney Theme Parks, Mum told us, ‘we had the most amazing holiday. Without these tickets we wouldn't have been able to go. The grant also enabled us to buy tickets to Mickey's not so scary Halloween party, which we all really enjoyed.’

Here we have three happy siblings enjoying themselves under the sun. Mum told us that they enjoyed their fantastic holiday in July.

Dad took his children, two daughters with CF, abroad for the first time with the help of two respite break grants. Big sister told us, ‘The holiday was amazing. And it helped me because it felt like an escape from everything. I wasn’t at home feeling sorry for myself. The thing is - CF takes over your life. It stops me going out, going to work, and being with friends. And this holiday was an escape from it all. I just felt like CF wasn’t taking over my life for a week – and that was really good”.

‘CF never gets out our heads. Thank you so much for making this trip possible for us. [our daughter] also had her one year post treatment scans and X-rays yesterday and we can happily say a full year in remission.’

These two young men have coped with cancer, perthes disease and they both have CF. This holiday gave the whole family precious time away from hospitals and the gruelling routine of CF treatment. And as you can see, their break gets a thumbs up from everyone.

At the CFHF we support children with CF and their families. It’s important for everyone in the family to get a break and make memories together. Siblings of children with CF are also seriously affected, much of their parent’s time is diverted to their siblings needs and the worry about their sibling’s well-being can be debilitating. Time away with their family is precious.

Mum to say,’[Our daughter] has had a poor winter and has been ill a number of month. She has foot and mouth and scarlet fever, She loves CBeebies and we want to treat her and her one year old brother to go and have a fun stay at the CBeebies Hotel. And here they are enjoying their much deserved break.

This young man was able to have some time with his family in the sun and create some wonderful memories. Mum told us, ‘He has had the time of his life and it was lovely to see him relax & not just focused on the usual day to day routine of CF.’

This little smiler, her sister and cousins go on holiday every year to a caravan park. Mum told us, ‘she absolutely loves being with her cousin, going on rides, go karts and even feeding birds outside our chalet. We used your grant to put towards our holiday which cost around £500 in total with travel expenses. We are very grateful for your kind and very helpful grant for [our daughter’s] fabulous holiday!’

This lovely family, with two daughters with CF, had a fantastic time away in Paris visiting the Disney theme park and the city of Paris.

Hard-working single mum Gemma with three children, two of which have CF, used her respite break grants to purchase an inflatable tent enabling the family to experience camping for the first time. Mum said, ‘Now we can go camping on our own, Thank you everyone for the truly magical moments being outdoors breathing countryside and seaside air, away from the restraints of routine.’

Mum told us: “With your help we were able to have a holiday that we would not have otherwise had, with the main focus being one that suited the boys. I think we chose well and Whitehead in The Forest of Dean turned out to be great…”

This family had a lovely time away in Devon. Sadly, it didn’t all go to plan as there was an unexpected visit to the hospital due to CF complications. Mum told us, ‘up until all this started on holiday last year, we had never really had any CF related problems. Now we have inhalers, nebulisers, extra physiotherapy and even more fowl tasting medicines for her to take. We spent most of the time in hospital... but we managed to get out on a boat on the last day which was lovely and cheered [our daughter] up loads! We saw some dolphins and she found herself a new seal friend!’

Mum wrote to us to say, ‘The holiday had a great impact on Colby and us as a family. He learned to swim in the sea, we couldn't keep him out. And he managed so well with the heat, better than any of us did. He was healthy through his whole holiday. The sea and all the exercise he did was so good for him. We thought all the swimming would exhaust him but instead we couldn't keep him out of the sea. The adults were exhausted. The paragliding was amazing Colby thought his mummy was flying! We are looking forward to when we can explain to him that we did it to raise more money so another family like us can have the same experience and just how much you did for us. We cannot express to you all enough how grateful we are.’

After their family trip to Cbeebies land mum told us, ‘We went in October half term and were blessed with good weather. We had an amazing time and she enjoyed it so much along with her two brothers.’

Despite one of the boys being involved in a serious car accident prior to the holiday, this brave little soldier still managed to fly off and make the most of his holiday. Mum told us, ‘Florida made the kids feel free. It brought magic and fun every day! They didn't focus on their daily routine of daily meds or physio like at home their focus was purely on the excitement for what each day brought! We will be forever grateful’

Here we have two happy siblings who enjoyed some time away in Butlins for the summer. Mum wrote to say to everyone who supports us, ‘thanks again for your generosity we as a family are very grateful.’

Here we have this happy little family who had an amazing weekend away to Wimborne. Mum told us, that this weekend was the best as they were able to relax from the everyday CF routines. The family enjoyed their little break away along with their beloved pets.

Here’s a brave little girl enjoying her time in Centre Parcs. Mum told us, "We had a lovely time and it's allowed us to spend lots of happy quality time together away from the daily stress and worry of CF. We are so very grateful."

“We had such an amazing fun filled time at Butlins, enjoyed every single second, it was very needed. Lots of extra Physio thrown in without her knowing and she ate much more than she does at home so that made us extra happy”

Pictured here on the way to the beach these brothers, one with CF, went on their first ever holiday abroad with the help of a Respite Break Grant.

Their CF nurse told us, “Both daughters suffer from CF. The treatment burden faced by the family is time consuming and at times overwhelming, however consistency in treatment is essential to maintain the girls’ health. A holiday is something for the whole family to aim towards and look forward to.”

Mum told us, “I'm a single parent and find it hard to take my son away anywhere. He would love to go to London as he's very interested in history and our country. He has had a bad run with his health and is currently on intravenous antibiotics. Planning for this trip really helps keep his spirits up”

Mum told us, “The holiday means a week in the sun with the security of family around us, and hopefully some precious memories to share for the future.”

Mum told us, “The holiday means a week in the sun with the security of family around us, and hopefully some precious memories to share for the future.”

"Dear everyone at the CF Holiday Fund, I really struggle to put into words just how grateful I am for the £350 you gave us for holiday to Portugal. I think your charity is an absolute blessing and I'm so lucky to have been helped by you! The actual holiday was absolutely phenomenal! We were in Vilamoura in the Algarve, and temperature were 30 degrees every day! Just right!"

Mum said the holiday was, “to create memories as a family and we need a holiday as have never been able to take him abroad. Their CF team told us, “The family have had a stressful year with their son with CF, starting school and he has dealt with many issues in order for him to settle well into school life. They would not able to afford a holiday without this grant.”