Remembering little Gabby: cerebral palsy fundraiser shifts online

Her family is continuing to do all it can to honour her memory. Dad Craig Robberds, a Wests Lions rugby legend, was hoping to hold a charity ball in Canberra this weekend for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. But COVID-19 soon saw the end of that.

But Craig has carried on, undeterred, and is doing the fundraising online, with supporters able to donate for at least the next month. This is the link https://cpfundraising.org.au/event/view/cpa-gala-2020

"It's a funny feeling, it's gone by very quickly," he said, of the day he lost his treasured daughter.

"She loved smiling. One of the things was, she loved all her physiotherapy sessions. the more you stretched her, the more she smiled. It was also good to get her to laugh and smile. She also loved all her swimming sessions, getting in the water made her happy. She was a very happy little girl."

Craig asked the Cerebral Palsy Alliance about what it urgently needed and the answer was Telepractice Support Kits, a technology-enabled video-call service which will ensure people living with a disability can access vital services from the safety of their homes. The kits may include items such as a tablet and therapy toys. Craig hopes to raise $20,000 for the kits.

"Gabby loved her therapy sessions and I want other kids to be given the same opportunity and don't want them to miss out," he said.

Craig, who is still with Wests and helps teach kids with disabilities, has a tattoo of Gabby on his left arm. He feels she is always with him.

"I like to see her smile and remember her that way," he said.

Craig was this weekend catching up with Gabby's older sister Charlotte, now 21 and playing rugby for Bond University on the Gold Coast, with his parents in Sydney where they would all pause to remember and celebrate Gabby.