As we near Christmas, and our brilliant Mirror charity appeal for Lifelites continues, we meet 13-year-old Mikey. His medical needs are so complex that he has to have someone trained in resuscitation with him 24 hours a day, but he’s able to play and unwind through virtual reality
Swimming with dolphins, climbing trees with gorillas in the rainforest and scoring the winning goal in a football match is something 13-year-old Mikey Strachan loves to do. The teenager, who has a condition so rare that no doctor worldwide has been able to diagnose, spends his days exploring – thanks to the power of virtual reality.
His medical needs are so complex that Mikey must stay connected to a ventilator for all but a few hours a day. He’s unable to fly abroad, play out with friends or even go to school but the youngster’s world has now been transformed after he was introduced to Meta Quest 3 VR technology by the charity Lifelites. His mum, Chevonne Newlands, 43, from Fareham in Hampshire, said: “When he’s on the VR he’s a normal teenager, it’s opened up his world and for a while he can forget about his medical issues. It’s been life-changing.”
READ MORE: ‘Our child was locked in his body until incredible gift opened up his world’
Two weeks ago we launched our Mirror Christmas appeal to ‘Unwrap the Magic of Christmas’ for thousands of children and young people like Mikey. The campaign aims to raise vital funds for them to experience the wonder of life-changing technology. Lifelites currently reach 15,000 children with life-limiting conditions. The charity provides seriously ill and disabled children the chance to play, create and communicate, using the power of assistive and sensory technology.
This includes the Soundbeam, a musical device that uses sensor technology to translate movement into sound, iClick Switches, Magic Carpet, which projects moving images onto the floor (or any suitable surface) to enable children to interact and control their environment, PODS sensory tent, Eyegaze, which tracks eye movements and allows children to control a computer and more.
There are still 85,000 children without access to Lifelites. By donating to our appeal, Mirror readers can help thousands more receive this life-changing technology, enhancing the life of a seriously ill or disabled child and help them make the most of the precious moments they have with their families.
Mikey’s parents mum Chevonne and dad George Strachan, 38, tell his story: “Not long after Mikey was born, he was struggling to breathe. Doctors told us he’d never be able to sit up or communicate with us, it was devastating,” says Chevonne. “At nine months they were able to fit a tube into his throat to help him breathe. His condition is such that he has to have someone trained in resuscitation with him 24 hours a day as he could stop breathing at any time, he’s also on a ventilator a lot of the time to ensure his body has enough oxygen.
“We’ve had episodes where his tracheostomy tube has come out and he’s almost died. The first one was when he had just been brought home from hospital and we had to resuscitate him ourselves. He has a special kind of food via a central line and a stoma as his bowels don’t work. He can walk but only a short distance because he gets exhausted, so he uses a wheelchair. If we go out we have to carry oxygen and an emergency bag. He has nebulisers to clear his airway.”
The family have searched the globe looking for answers as Mikey’s condition is a mystery to all. Chevonne said: “Over the years he’s had hundreds of tests and investigative surgeries but doctors still don’t know what syndrome he has. “He is currently part of some global research – the 100,000 Gene Study in Boston. They’ve taken blood from Mikey and ourselves and put it into rats and other species to see what happens.
“They say he has a syndrome but they don’t know what, once they do they say it might even get named after him. We have reached the stage that even if we did have a diagnosis there’s not going to be a cure and it’s not going to change how we care for Mikey. We just want him to have the best quality of life he can.”
Because his condition is so severe Mikey has to be observed 24 hours a day, even when he is sleeping, which means many restless nights for the couple who take it in turns to cover three nights a week. The rest of the week is covered by specially trained nurses.
Mikey is not able to speak but communicates through blowing raspberries, using Makaton sign language, a language program using signs, symbols, and speech to help people with learning or communication difficulties express themselves, and via the Meta Quest 3 VR headset. He is also a talented darts player, competing in a junior league despite his difficulties.
He attended a mainstream school, as cognitively he is the same as any 13-year-old, but because he needs two specially trained nurses with him, and they were no longer available, he had to stop. Chevonne said: “That was tough for him as he has so many friends but he’s still able to socialise with them via playing games on the VR.”
Mikey and his family have received support from Chestnut Tree House in Arundel in West Sussex for almost eight years. The children’s hospice cares for more than 300 families a year across Sussex and South East Hampshire, helping children and families, who know they don’t have long together, the chance to live life to the full and provide specialist end of life care and ongoing support.
It was here that Mikey was first introduced to Lifelites technology. Chevonne said: “Chestnut Tree House has been a lifeline for us, Mikey loves it there and it’s enabled us to have a holiday and a break from caring for Mikey as well.
“He was first introduced to the VR that Lifelites provided and he came home begging us to buy one for him to have at home as well. He loves it and uses it to travel to places and play football with his friends, he is just a normal teenager mentally so it’s frustrating for him not to be able to do all the things his friends do.”
The couple have backed the Mirror Christmas appeal: “Without the tech he’d be lonely. It’s opened up his world. When I hear him on the VR having such fun it makes us smile as he’s happy and enjoying life.” Jack Northeast, Activities Team Leader at Chestnut Tree House, said: “Like any other 13-year-old boy, Mikey wants to get up, move around and play football, which he can do in moderation. But there are other times he can’t and he can just slip the VR headset on and suddenly he’s a gorilla climbing up a tree.
“Or he’s a robot flying around in new worlds and space, it gives him a natural freedom that every 13 year-old deserves. Watching him have that freedom has been amazing for me.”
Unwrap the magic of Christmas
Donate today and unwrap the Magic of Christmas for seriously ill children. Donations from Mirror readers will be used to provide seriously ill children access to life-changing technology that will enable them to play, communicate and have fun in ways that would otherwise be impossible.
- Donate online HERE
- Text MIRROR to 70085 to give £10. To donate without receiving further updates, text MIRRORNOINFO. Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message, and you’ll be opting into hearing more from Lifelites.
- Donate by post: Send cheques made payable to Lifelites, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
