Sense Awards 2024: Siblings of the Year
Bayleigh and Freddie Spencer
It’s wonderful to be able to recognise Bayleigh and Freddie at this year’s Sense Awards.
The love they show their little brother, Archie, and the way they constantly help their mum care for him is deeply moving.
Freddie, 10, and Bayleigh, 11, are the older siblings of eight-year-old twins Evie and Archie.
The twins were born very prematurely at 28 weeks and soon after they first came home, Archie caught bronchitis, which put him into cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Miraculously, he survived but he now lives with cerebral palsy, visual impairment and global development delay.
Then when Freddie was four and Bayleigh was five, their stepdad, Dan, died of renal cancer.
Mum Kirsty is proud of the resilience all her children have shown and of the way Freddie and Bayleigh have taken on caring responsibilities at home. She says Freddie is like Archie’s best mate, rushing to find him after school, while Bayleigh is like Archie’s second mum, helping with his meds and physio.
The pair have never fussed about missing out on cinema trips or having beach visits cut short because family days out must fit in with Archie’s needs.
Far from feeling resentment, as their mum once feared, they adore their little brother. The outdoorsy two love letting off steam at a monthly siblings group run by Sense and have made lots of friends with other young carers while climbing, rafting and go-karting.
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