THE future for toddlers Grace Mae Taylor and Lucy Kaye is looking brighter after a charity donation from a Bury carpet company.
Grace Mae, from Radcliffe, suffers from a rare condition known as Tyrosinemia Type 1, an inherited liver disease which means she cannot eat protein.
The 18-month-old girl undergoes tests at the hospital every week and has blood taken to monitor her condition.
She is one of only 302 known cases in the world, and with a restricted diet and a relatively new drug, Grace's parents are able to control the condition.
Cormar Carpets, which employs more than 230 at its manufacturing plants in Greenmount and Ramsbottom, donated £500 to the charity CLIMB, of which Grace is a member, to help research into genetic metabolic diseases.
Sarah Taylor, Grace's mother, said: "To look at her you wouldn't think there was anything wrong. But people don't see what has to be done behind the scenes with the medication and monitoring her diet.
"It's very hard, but we've just had to adapt. This donation is wonderful."
Lucy, from Tottington, was able to have keyhole surgery to remove a diseased kidney, following a £2,500 donation from Cormar.
The two-year-old was in and out of hospital in two days rather than having to undergo open surgery which would have left her with a 10-inch scar, possible cracked ribs and a six- to eight-week recovery period.
Vickie Kaye, Lucy's mother, said: "The donation that was given to us by Cormar helped Lucy a great deal. We really appreciate all they have done."
The tots attended Cormar's annual charity presentation where they had a chance to meet and thank the staff who have given donations of about £20,000 to local charities in the past year.
The company chose to offer donations to the toddlers after hearing of their struggle to overcome their different problems.
Through its payroll-giving scheme, contributions from staff at Cormar are matched, pound for pound, by the company through the Give As You Earn scheme. Each year, the amount raised is allocated to various charities in the region by Cormar Carpet's Charity Committee, set up in 1997.
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