Aries has faced and conquered plenty of adversity – more than a nine-year-old should – and it’s turned him into a mature, kind and thoughtful boy. But childhood needs to be about fun, too, especially around birthdays, which is why Satan’s Little Helper was happy to hook Aries up with some birthday treats!
Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, Aries has had to develop a maturity beyond that of most nine-year-olds. Unfortunately, his mum Fiona has struggled with a “complicated health issue” over the past few years, which has left its mark on her and her boy.
“I’ve been with several health issues for four years and had required multiple, major surgeries over that time, the last of which was in October 2022, all of which have failed,” says Fiona. “The last 12 months have been the worst, and I’ve been left with physical impairments, which require more time under the knife in the future. I’ve also developed post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It has a huge impact on how I show up each day for Aries, as much as I always try to push through to make sure there’s little to no impact on him.”
Getting through it
Despite Fiona’s iron will, there has been some disruption to her home life caused by her poor health – and, as a single mother, she has limited support to help her support Aries.
“I’m constantly in awe of how resilient he is. We only have each other and, some days, I struggle to provide as much as I’d like to for him, but he’s still got an amazing sense of humour and I think he’s a really cool kid.
“In general, he’s a joker and a bit of a class clown, with an outlook on the world beyond his years!”
Due to her complicated health issues, Fiona says she sometimes struggles to get off the couch some days. Of course, this also has an impact on her ability to work.
Kind and generous
“Despite the impact it has on my financial situation, Aries is always in good spirits! He’ll offer me his pocket money or make me get-well-soon cards, in which he’ll write how much he loves me – which always brings a tear to my eye.
“He keeps saying that when he’s older he’s going to get a job so he can look after me, which is sweet but something that leaves me riddled with guilt that I’m not able to provide him the childhood he deserves.”
When Satan’s Little Helper heard about the situation, we knew we had to do something to give Aries a great time and Fiona a little respite from her day-to-day. So, we sent Aries and his best mate to the cinema and chucked in a couple of HELL Pizza vouchers to help with a pizza party.
And, to give Aries and his mum some quality time together, we booked them into a BnB for the night.
A good day
“Being able to provide Aries with these experiences really came at the best time with his birthday coming up. It meant he had the best day possible!” says Fiona.
“It was also a great pick-me-up for him. He's just starting to speak to a counsellor at school to discuss anything on his mind, as I noticed he has been struggling a bit.
“For myself, it has helped bring me out of quite a low, difficult place, as I recently received some more difficult news about my health. To receive such kindness and generosity has really been the light needed to encourage a brighter outlook of so many good and better things to come after a very difficult period.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are.”