Pride of Guernsey: Lisa and CarlĀ Smith

HUGE sacrifices have been made by Carl and Lisa Smith to ensure their daughter has the best possible chance of living a normal life, their Pride of Guernsey nominator has said.

Carl and Lisa Smith have been nominated by Rosemary Dorey for the Christies Group-sponsored Parent/s of the Year Award.

Their daughter Eloise has also been nominated in the Overcoming Adversity category.

‘When their daughter Eloise was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy at four months, Carl and Lisa had to make huge sacrifices so their daughter could get the best chance of a normal life,’ their nominator said.

Mr and Mrs Smith made sure that Eloise had all the physio and equipment she needed, as well as extra opportunities to accelerate her progress.

‘After an initial start riding with RDA, they arranged for her to proceed with regular horse-riding lessons at a riding school because they felt she was capable of progressing further, and she loved it.

The lessons were invaluable for her balance and developing the muscles which were sorely lacking on one side of her body. I have watched how the parents treat her, just like any other child.

‘Eloise is a happy, polite child and this is all due to extremely good parenting.’