"Zest is an invaluable commodity.
Without its support many families, like ours, would lose a vital service that makes such a difference to our daily lives"
One young adult who regularly enjoys Zest’s care and opportunities is 21-year-old Jake Doyle from near Needham Market in Suffolk.
“Jake absolutely loves his regular short break visits to Zest. It means he is centre of attention, gets to do things he likes doing and has ‘Jake time’,” explained Jake’s mum Beckie Davy.
“Having a little independence from us is so important for him to grow. It also means as a family we can do activities with his siblings which are not suitable for Jake due to his disabilities. Also, I can have ‘mum time’ with my other boys, when sometimes it can be really difficult to give them my full attention when Jake’s needing me too.”
After many years of living with challenging, previously unknown conditions, Jake was diagnosed as having bilateral bands subcortical heterotopia, refractory epilepsy and esophageal dysmotility at Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2013.
“Up until this point Jake had been made to feel like a hospital number,” added Beckie.
“His diagnosis didn’t really change anything apart from having a label. It’s an incredibly rare condition, with only one other case in the world being diagnosed.
