Five year old George came along to our show with his family, including his twin sister Hannah and brother Harry.

George enjoys laying under trees and staring at leaves, as well as swimming and going to an accessible park.

He is one of around 18 people in the world with the condition Hartsfield Syndrome that affects all aspects of his life.

His big sister Jess told us how a trip to our accessible event was a special time for the family.

“Prior to the show, George had been in hospital for two weeks, he hadn’t seen his siblings for that whole time. When they went to the circus together, Harry said “it’s like a reunion of us all! I’ve missed you George”. We felt like a ‘normal’ family for the first time in a long time.”

Unfortunately, due to lack of accessibility the family often struggle to attend events or go on holiday. But Jess explained to us how Circus Starr was different.

“We felt welcome and like nothing was too much trouble. Because George is in a wheelchair most places we’ve been it’s been difficult to access, or if we’re seeing a show we often get put in the corner and his siblings don’t get to see much of the show. Whereas at Circus Starr, we were at the very front of the ring and we saw everything. George’s sister and brother said they ‘felt special and like they were important.’”

At Circus Starr, we pride ourselves on been accessible. In fact, we were the first and currently the only circus to provide Changing Places Facilities for our disabled audience members. This gave Jess peace of mind on their family outing.

“We are so used to having to change George on a dirty toilet floor, the fact there were Changing Places facilities just put our minds at ease. George’s biggest risk to his life is infection, he has got a very weak immune system and changing him on a dirty floor is putting him at risk of becoming ill. Knowing that there was a clean place to change him, which was accessible, meant we didn’t have to worry.”

We love to hear the stories of families that have been able to come along and have a well-deserved afternoon of fun.

But we wouldn’t be able to offer this unique event to children like George without the kind support of businesses making generous donations. Big sister Jess wanted us to pass on her thanks to the people that helped to make it happen.

“It really does make such a difference to families like ours, it gives us a little bit of a break from all the hospital appointments and chaos of having a child with additional needs. Thank you so much for supporting Circus Starr.”