“From the very first moment, Bentley felt safe in it. He feels secure and cozy, like camping in a tent.”

Touring Europe’s race circuits with a CloudCuddle in the wheelchair van

Linda Leppers (39) and her partner Leon (48) experienced a very stressful time surrounding the birth of their only son Bentley. At thirty weeks pregnant, Linda suffered a hemorrhage, which meant their premature baby had to be delivered by emergency C-section. During his first year, Bentley’s health was extremely fragile. But now, at five years old, he is developing into a true language talent. Just like his parents, he loves cars and racing. The family hopes to travel together to race circuits all across Europe — with a CloudCuddle in the back of their wheelchair van.

Renovation

At the moment, the family does not yet own a CloudCuddle themselves. However, their experience with the inflatable bed tent at Bio Vakantieoord in Arnhem has been so positive that they are seriously considering buying one soon. First, though, they need to finish renovating the ground floor of their home. The municipality of Helmond helped the family create an extra bedroom and bathroom downstairs, which will make caring for Bentley much easier in the future.

Everything is soft

Bentley first slept in a CloudCuddle during the family’s third holiday at Bio Vakantieoord.

“We didn’t know at first that the holiday park had them,” Linda explains. “It was such a luxury — the manager had already set up the CloudCuddle for us. Such a relief! Everything about the bed tent is soft, so Bentley can’t hurt himself or fall out of bed. At home, Bentley sleeps in a hi-low bed with heavy padding.”

For those unfamiliar with Bio Vakantieoord: this holiday park was founded in 1927 with financial support from the cinema industry. Remember the collection boxes that used to go around cinemas? Bio Vakantieoord offers families a wonderful holiday destination with fully adapted bungalows.

Stethoscope

At birth, Bentley suffered from severe cardiac arrhythmias, with a heart rate reaching as high as 350 beats per minute. Strong medication eventually brought it under control. He had to take this medication for an entire year. During that period, his parents learned how to monitor their son’s heartbeat with a stethoscope so they could act quickly in case of an emergency once they were back home.

He is doing well now, although there is still a possibility that the arrhythmias could return during puberty.

Brain injury

Bentley’s development during his first eighteen months was also different from average. Linda sensed something was wrong.

“As a toddler, he couldn’t sit up and would constantly fall backwards stiff as a board. After an MRI scan, we were told Bentley had suffered a brain injury — cerebral palsy — caused during birth. As a result, our son will continue to struggle with posture and movement. Once we knew this, he started rehabilitation therapy, where he learns how the healthy parts of his brain can take over tasks from the damaged parts as much as possible.”

“And although specialists warned us Bentley would never be able to ride a bike, he can now already cycle a kilometre on a tricycle. He can also walk about a hundred metres using a posterior walker. His torso has to be strapped in to keep him upright and safe, but despite his spasms, he can stand and walk a little.”

Other languages

Bentley attends a special education school five days a week, where he also receives physiotherapy. He flies through the school material and loves learning.

“When he was two years old, Bentley had already started teaching himself his first French words. At the Spa-Francorchamps race circuit, he heard people speaking another language and wanted to learn it too. My husband and I helped him, and Google Translate also came in handy. By now, Bentley speaks a little English, French, German and of course Dutch!”

Safe and secure

Back to the CloudCuddle. How did Bentley react to sleeping in the bed tent?

“From the very first moment, Bentley felt safe in it. It was wonderful! He feels secure. Cozy — like camping in a tent. Of course, we put his cuddly toys and pillow inside, and I lay down with him first so I could experience what he experiences. We were amazed by how much he loved it. I don’t often recommend products, but I can truly recommend the CloudCuddle to other parents caring for children with special needs.”