To say that Chantelle Richardson has a lot on her plate is putting it mildly.
The 25-year-old single mother looks after three disabled daughters, all aged under seven with one of them confined to a wheelchair, needing constant attention.
Keeping the children dressed, washed and fed and ferrying them to and from school and nursery is not only a full-time job – it often means that Chantelle works a 21-hour day.
“I’m up at about 5am and sometimes I’m kept awake until 2am the next morning,” she said. “But I don’t have any complaints. It’s a labor of love.”
Caitlynn is Chantelle’s most severely disabled child.
“She had a stroke in my womb when I was 28 weeks pregnant and was born brain damaged. She has cerebral palsy, is blind, has to be tube-fed and will never be able to walk. She also has epilepsy and has recently been diagnosed with having brittle bones.”
