Fabulous Facial's

✨️From the bottom of my heart, thank you.✨️
I honestly don’t have the words to thank everyone who has donated to my GoFundMe, shared my story, sent messages or simply shown me kindness and support.

Every donation, no matter how big or small, is helping me work towards something that means so much to me — getting some of my independence back.

Since losing my leg, so many everyday things have become difficult, and being able to drive independently is something I desperately want to regain. The hand adaptations for my car will give me the freedom to get to appointments, see family and friends, get out of the house and start rebuilding my life without always having to rely on someone else.

It’s not just helping me adapt a car… you’re helping me regain a little piece of my freedom.
To everyone who has donated, shared, encouraged me or checked in on me — thank you, truly.
Your kindness means more to me than I could ever put into words, and I will carry that support with me every step of this journey. 🦿

Thank you for helping me find my independence again. # # #

I honestly don’t know where to begin… 💚

I just want to say the biggest, most heartfelt ✨️THANK YOU✨️ to every single person who has shared, donated, commented, messaged, or simply taken the time to read and support my GoFundMe.

To my family and friends who have stood beside me through everything — the appointments, the pain, the uncertainty, the fear, and now facing life after amputation — I could never put into words what your love and support has meant to me.

And then there are the people I’ve never even met… strangers who have seen my story, shared my fundraiser, donated what they could, or sent me the kindest messages. Please know that you have touched my heart more than you could ever realise.

The money being raised is going towards helping me get a car adapted following my leg amputation. Something as simple as being able to drive independently will mean so much more than just having a car. It will mean freedom. Independence. Being able to get myself to appointments, see the people I love, continue building my business, and start taking back little pieces of the life that this illness has taken from me.

After everything that has happened, there have been moments when I've wondered what my life is going to look like now. I'm still figuring that out. But every share, every donation and every kind word reminds me that I don't have to figure it all out alone. 🥹

Some of you have donated more than you can comfortably afford, some have donated a little, and some haven't been able to donate at all but have shared my story — every single one of those things matters.

You may never know just how much your kindness has meant to me at a time when life has felt incredibly overwhelming.

So from the bottom of my heart…

Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for standing beside me.
Thank you for helping me look forward instead of backwards.
And thank you for helping me find a little more freedom in a life that is changing so much. 🤍

I will never take any of this kindness for granted.

With all my love and gratitude,
Danielle

2 Weeks in hospital definitely takes it toll on your skin, mine looks and feels vile.
Little treat to me from me, for being a super brave pirate 🏴‍☠️
The hype seems to be right, my skin feel all fresh and squeaky clean.....lets see if i wake up looking 21 🙃
Also meet Ethel Little Leg.....

Im on the move 👩‍🦽💨 and after 6 days Iv officially left my bed (albeit only for 15mins)
Im all un-hooked from my drains, epidural and morphine driver too...definitely feel the difference. Most of my bandages are off and iv even been able to take a look myself with passing out or going funny...im not good with gory stuff.

Iv had my first post-surgery physio today, to say i was nervous is an understatement. My biggest fear was I had hang my little leg/Ethel 😅 off the bed, after having her straight for 6 days.
It actually wasn't as bad as I had anticipated.

I have a very tight hip flexor & hamstring which feels like they've cut it to short, but over time it will ease. I have to remember im not as flexible nor a spring chicken as I once was.
I can transfer safe & well 💪, so now means I can go out around the ward in my wheelchair but im still waiting for my stump/little leg support (everything is so bloody expensive) to be able to go get some fresh air.
Im feeling very proud of myself and its given me the boost I desperately needed.
Still slow & steady but I definitely feel im moving in the right direction.

Thank you all again for the continued messages of support & kindness 😘 I really am extremely grateful.

*Trigger Warning Gross*

Wow.......now this is definitely taking some getting used too. Iv never felt so helpless & a freak in my life! Trying to remain positive but feeling very sorry for myself.
Day 2 of my new life. Thank you so so much for all the beautiful messages, I honestly cant thank you all enough 😚

You might want to grab a cuppa — this is a long one. ❤️
But sometimes, reflection deserves the time and space it takes.
There’s something about anniversaries that makes us pause and really take stock of where we are — and where we’ve come from.
For me, September has always been a month of reflection.
This month marks five years of The Dragonfly and The Hummingbird CIC — five years since my daughters and I turned some of the darkest experiences of our lives into something positive, something purposeful, and something that could help other families.

But this year, our fifth birthday feels very different.
It’s incredibly bittersweet.
Because while I am unbelievably proud to be celebrating five years of everything we have achieved, I’m also having to accept that this chapter of our lives is coming to an end.
And that is something I never imagined I would have to write.
To understand why, I need to take you back to where this journey began.
In September 2018, I found myself trapped in a violent and abusive relationship that nearly cost me my life.
After months of severe physical and psychological abuse, the situation culminated in police intervention. My ex-partner was arrested, charged & jailed, but I was left physically injured — a broken eye socket, six damaged ribs, amongst other injuries — and psychologically shattered.
In the aftermath, my two daughters and I were forced to flee our home of over 10 years for our own safety.
We left with only a few salvaged belongings. Most of what we owned had been destroyed.
I was sectioned, and once I was deemed stable, we were relocated to temporary accommodation far from family and friends, in an unfamiliar area.
After six long months, we finally moved into a permanent home — a blank slate — where I began, slowly and painfully, to rebuild our lives from scratch while still battling the deep scars of trauma.
Despite everything, I was determined to minimise the impact on my daughters.
For four years, I drove over 100 miles every single day just to keep them in their existing schools.
Uprooting their home was unavoidable — but I refused to take away their sense of normality, stability, education and friendships.
Out of those darkest days came an idea.
A way to help other families who were walking similar paths.
And so, my daughters and I became the incredibly proud founders of The Dragonfly and The Hummingbird CIC. 🦋🐦
What started as an idea born from our own trauma became something far bigger than I could ever have imagined.
We started with free Friday–Monday camping and glamping weekends during the summer, hosting five families at a time, creating a safe environment where survivors and their children could simply breathe, reconnect, heal and make happy memories together.
Since launching, we have supported over 65 families — more than 150 children — through our retreats alone.
And there have been so many moments along the way that I will forever be proud of:
🟣 Organising and hosting a charity ball to raise vital funds
🟣 Being named Charity of the Year by B&Q Doncaster in 2022
🟣 Winning the Doncaster Council Safeguarding Award two years in a row
🟣 Receiving personal letters of recognition from the late Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales
🟣 Delivering food and gift hampers to families at Christmas
🟣 Hosting free Halloween and Christmas parties for families in need
🟣 Being featured in local and national television interviews to raise awareness of domestic abuse
🟣 Most importantly, being able to give families memories that replaced some of the painful ones they had been forced to live through.
And alongside The Dragonfly and The Hummingbird, I continued building another dream.
I trained, studied, qualified and eventually opened my own salon in January 2025.
DK Fabulous Facials & Japanese Head Spa. ✨
And I wanted my salon to be more than somewhere people came for a facial.
I wanted it to be another safe space.
A place where women could feel comfortable, valued, listened to and cared for.
Since opening, I have proudly provided over 140 free treatments to domestic abuse survivors, women who are full-time carers to disabled dependents and cancer warriors.
I created that salon because I know personally what it feels like to lose your confidence, your identity and your sense of worth.
I wanted to give other women a little piece of what I had needed myself.
And then life changed again.
Last year, I shared publicly that I had been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder.
Unfortunately, we later discovered that diagnosis was wrong.
The reality was that I was living with a rare vascular disease, which had been causing permanent damage to my circulation.
And the consequences have been devastating.
After years of trying to find answers, multiple appointments, investigations, treatments and finally getting the correct diagnosis, I am now facing something I never imagined would be part of my story.
I am having my right leg amputated because of the permanent damage caused by this disease.
And with my circumstances changing so dramatically, I have had to make the incredibly difficult decision to close The Dragonfly and The Hummingbird CIC.
I won't pretend that doesn't break my heart.
Because this isn't simply a charity/nonprofit
This is a piece of my life.
A piece of my recovery.
Proof that the woman who once believed she wouldn't survive could go on to build something that helped hundreds of other people.
So yes, our fifth birthday is bittersweet.
There is sadness in closing a chapter that meant so much to me.
There is grief for the future I thought I was going to have.
There is frustration that circumstances outside of my control have changed the direction of my life yet again.
But there is also immense pride.
Because we did it.
My girls and I took something horrific and created something beautiful from it.
We gave families somewhere to go.
We created memories.
We offered kindness.
We helped women feel seen.
We showed survivors that life after abuse really can exist.
And perhaps most importantly, we proved that your circumstances do not have to define the rest of your story.
My story isn't ending because The Dragonfly and The Hummingbird is closing.
My story isn't ending because my body has failed me.
And my story certainly isn't ending because I am losing a leg.
It is simply changing.
I have had to learn the hardest lesson of all — sometimes strength isn't about carrying on exactly as you planned.
Sometimes strength is accepting that life has changed and finding the courage to take the next step anyway.
Even if that next step looks completely different to the one you imagined.
Five years ago, I never could have imagined writing this post.
I couldn't have imagined everything we would achieve.
And I certainly couldn't have imagined where life would take me next.
But when I look back at the frightened woman who left an abusive relationship in 2018, and compare her to the woman sitting here today, I realise something.
She survived.
She built.
She fought.
She loved.
She helped others.
She turned her pain into purpose.
And even now, when life has thrown another enormous challenge at her, she is still here.
So today, I don't just want to say goodbye.
I want to say thank you.
Thank you to every family who trusted us.
Every survivor who allowed us into their story.
Every child who came through our doors.
Every person who donated, volunteered, shared a post, attended an event or simply believed in what we were trying to achieve.
And thank you to my daughters, who have been beside me through every chapter of this journey.
The Dragonfly and The Hummingbird may be closing, but what we created will never be erased.
The memories will remain.
The lives we touched will remain.
The difference we made will remain.
And I will carry every single one of those moments with me into whatever comes next.
I don't know exactly what the next chapter looks like yet.
But after everything I've survived, I've learned not to fear the blank pages.
Sometimes the most beautiful chapters are the ones you never planned to write.
So here's to five years. 🥂
Five years of turning pain into purpose.
Five years of helping others.
Five years of memories, laughter, tears, challenges, achievements and love.
And five years of proving that even after the darkest night, there can still be light.
Our chapter may be closing.
But our story isn't over.
🦋🐦❤️

Fabulous Facial's

Fabulous morning setting up this little teepee Sleepover for a special birthday girl 😍
Have a fabulous time making forever memories 😊