AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
'I felt like a failure': Mum who organised ninth birthday party for her autistic little girl was left in tears when EVERYBODY cancelled... but strangers around the world saved the day
It's the agonising moment no mother wants to go through. You spend hours organising a party for your child only to find no one turns up.
That's what happened to Candy Butchers, a 26-year-old mum of two from Melbourne.
She organised a birthday party for her nine-year-old girl who has autism, but 10 guests cancelled, leaving the mum heartbroken.
Her daughter Rhianna was counting down the days until her birthday party.
Because her daughter doesn't have many friends, Ms Butchers made sure enough people were invited for a party.
'Rhianna is autistic, she’s high functioning but she doesn’t get the social cues,' the mum told Daily Mail Australia.
'She gets bullied a lot and didn’t have any friends to invite. I invited my friends and their children.'
The night before the big day, Ms Butchers and her husband Adam cleaned and decorated, preparing the cakes and snacks.
But then on the morning of the party, text messages starting coming in with people saying they couldn't make it.
'I invited 25 people,' the 26-year-old explained. 'Of that 10 people said that they were going to come, but everyone cancelled.'
Ms Butchers said she was distraught. She didn't know what to do and felt like she had let her daughter down.
'I went outside. I sat out there for a good hour or two bawling my eyes out,' she said. 'I don’t know how to tell her nobody is coming.
'How do I explain to a nine year old with autism that nobody is coming to her birthday party? I felt so heartbroken. I felt like a failure as a mum.'
In her distress, the 26-year-old took to a Facebook group she was a part of, Midnight Mums, to post about what had happened.
'It's my beautiful little girl's birthday party and no one is showing up,' wrote.
Then she sat with her husband while they let Rhianna play on the computer, trying to work out what to do.
'Then my phone just kept buzzing and buzzing,' Ms Butchers said. 'There was already over 100 comments on the Facebook post.
'People from all over the world were posting photos of their kids with signs, wishing Rhianna a happy birthday.'
Suddenly mums from all over Melbourne were saying they were packing up their kids and coming over.
'In the end there was at least 40 adults and children. My house was packed,' the mum said.
'People were bringing food and wine and cake and drink. Someone even brought a mini petting zoo. They brought her presents and cards and gave her money.'
Ms Butchers, and Rhianna, were overwhelmed by the party, with the nine-year-old telling her mum it was the best birthday she'd had.
'People I’ve known for 20 years shunned my child and cancelled, and people I’ve never met come out of the woodwork and helped,' the mum said.
'So many other mums who live near me messaged and said "let's have coffee, let's organise a playdate.''
It just goes to show, sometimes social media can bring people together.
Source (with images): No one turned up to autistic little girls ninth birthday | Daily Mail Online
'I felt like a failure': Mum who organised ninth birthday party for her autistic little girl was left in tears when EVERYBODY cancelled... but strangers around the world saved the day
- Candy Butchers organised a birthday party for her nine-year-old daughter
- Rhianna, who is autistic, was counting down the days to the party
- But then everyone cancelled on the day, leaving the mum extremely upset
- She posted about it on Facebook and got hundreds of responses worldwide
- Soon mums from all over Melbourne were heading to her house for the party
It's the agonising moment no mother wants to go through. You spend hours organising a party for your child only to find no one turns up.
That's what happened to Candy Butchers, a 26-year-old mum of two from Melbourne.
She organised a birthday party for her nine-year-old girl who has autism, but 10 guests cancelled, leaving the mum heartbroken.
Her daughter Rhianna was counting down the days until her birthday party.
Because her daughter doesn't have many friends, Ms Butchers made sure enough people were invited for a party.
'Rhianna is autistic, she’s high functioning but she doesn’t get the social cues,' the mum told Daily Mail Australia.
'She gets bullied a lot and didn’t have any friends to invite. I invited my friends and their children.'
The night before the big day, Ms Butchers and her husband Adam cleaned and decorated, preparing the cakes and snacks.
But then on the morning of the party, text messages starting coming in with people saying they couldn't make it.
'I invited 25 people,' the 26-year-old explained. 'Of that 10 people said that they were going to come, but everyone cancelled.'
Ms Butchers said she was distraught. She didn't know what to do and felt like she had let her daughter down.
'I went outside. I sat out there for a good hour or two bawling my eyes out,' she said. 'I don’t know how to tell her nobody is coming.
'How do I explain to a nine year old with autism that nobody is coming to her birthday party? I felt so heartbroken. I felt like a failure as a mum.'
In her distress, the 26-year-old took to a Facebook group she was a part of, Midnight Mums, to post about what had happened.
'It's my beautiful little girl's birthday party and no one is showing up,' wrote.
Then she sat with her husband while they let Rhianna play on the computer, trying to work out what to do.
'Then my phone just kept buzzing and buzzing,' Ms Butchers said. 'There was already over 100 comments on the Facebook post.
'People from all over the world were posting photos of their kids with signs, wishing Rhianna a happy birthday.'
Suddenly mums from all over Melbourne were saying they were packing up their kids and coming over.
'In the end there was at least 40 adults and children. My house was packed,' the mum said.
'People were bringing food and wine and cake and drink. Someone even brought a mini petting zoo. They brought her presents and cards and gave her money.'
Ms Butchers, and Rhianna, were overwhelmed by the party, with the nine-year-old telling her mum it was the best birthday she'd had.
'People I’ve known for 20 years shunned my child and cancelled, and people I’ve never met come out of the woodwork and helped,' the mum said.
'So many other mums who live near me messaged and said "let's have coffee, let's organise a playdate.''
It just goes to show, sometimes social media can bring people together.
Source (with images): No one turned up to autistic little girls ninth birthday | Daily Mail Online
