A MOTHER whose disabled son was cared for at Sunshine House has said its closure has given her panic attacks and left him distraught.
Oliver Ledger was born with fluid on the brain, meaning he suffers seizures and is unable to walk or speak.
The 13-year-old's only regular contact with other teenagers was at the centre in west Hull, which shut in December when it was flooded during the tidal surge.
Although health bosses have said it will reopen in December, families fear the centre will close completely.
Oliver's mum, Sarah Hudson, says he has no idea why he cannot see his friends anymore and blames himself.
She said: "When the support got cut off, it just stopped – there was no contact with the other children and no information coming in.
"I couldn't explain to him why. He thought he had done something wrong.
"I just feel we've been treated horribly because this is our lifeline. Without it I don't know where we would be."
Oliver has to be fed through a tube and doctors did not expect him to live into his teens.
His seizures have become more frequent this year and Mrs Hudson, 42, puts it down to the closure.
She said: "My son doesn't get other children knocking on the door to play with him. This is all he's got.
"You can't even put into words how much it's vital for my family and the thought of not having it absolutely terrifies me.
"The staff were brilliant, the kids who went there all loved each other and that was the only bit of social time they got."
The centre in Walker Street, west Hull, offered end-of-life and respite care for families with nowhere else to go.
Mrs Hudson, who lives in Hessle, quit her job when Oliver was born to become his full-time carer.
She would take her son to Sunshine House when she needed a break. Now, the stress of looking after him has begun to affect her health.
She said: "I'm suffering severe anxiety and panic attacks. That support has gone and with no support you crumble.
"I know I'm not the only mother who's going through this. If you speak to any family who used Sunshine House they're all suffering.
"If we're not well, where does that leave our kids?"
Oliver's mum cannot understand the delay in reopening.
She feels let down by Humber NHS Foundation Trust, which owns the centre, and its operator, the City Health Care Partnership (CHCP).
She said: "If these people making the big decisions had disabled children it would be up and running.
They don't have any idea what it's like to live like we do.
"I don't think they get it. It's just a business in their eyes."
The NHS trust said there were no plans to close the centre and some upgrades to its facilities were being made.
A spokesman said: "As a result of the flooding, the building had to undergo a thorough drying out process and then had to be, due to the nature of the flood water, disinfected throughout before the damage could be surveyed."
A spokesman for the CHCP said: "We recognise this is an unsettling time for those families who have used Sunshine House and continue to support those affected to provide them with respite care in the home."
