00:00She's our little ball of dynamite.
00:01A safe bed and a secure home might be taken for granted by most parents,
00:07but for Abigail and Timothy from Chatham, who live in fear of their autistic toddler
00:12escaping the house and harming herself, it's nothing short of a luxury.
00:18And this is Frankie, who's three years old and is a really big fan of my camera equipment.
00:25And while Frankie was certainly energetic and happy to play,
00:29her mother frequently needs to keep doors and windows locked to stop her from escaping.
00:35As the parents, we don't sleep.
00:37We're in a constant state of exhaustion.
00:42You don't sleep properly, you may sleep in the night time,
00:46but it's not the sleep because I'm constantly waiting in that stage of
00:55Oh, what was that sound? Is that her out of bed? Where is she in the room?
01:00What's she doing? And it's not healthy at the end of the day.
01:05Dad, Timothy, used to work as a welder, but gave up working to care full time for his two daughters.
01:12With Frankie still awaiting a formal diagnosis that might allow her to access more care.
01:17And we're just trying to get as much help for her as possible,
01:23because the bed, a special bed for her, is going to cost over £6,000.
01:30And a special car seat to keep her safe in the car.
01:35Sorry.
01:44It's nearly £600.
01:48It's just scary to know that if the door's not locked properly or she finds a way to get out,
02:01I don't want a phone call from Abby to say,
02:07Frankie's been rushed to hospital, well, the worst thing has happened to her.
02:16But in the meantime, the couple are calling on their local community to help raise funds for a specialist bed
02:22and car seat
02:23that will stop Frankie from escaping and keep her out of danger.
02:27The couple are still waiting for both a diagnosis for Frankie and specialist equipment while she still continues to escape.
02:36But without specialist help, they just feel like they're spinning their wheels.
02:41Megan Shaw for KMTV in Chatham.
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