When a child is diagnosed with a complex disability, a tidal wave of unanswered questions sweeps through life. As though, one minute you live in a town that you recognise, one you've lived in your whole life. It is a town with familiar faces, understandable street names and identifiable buildings. Then the next minute you've been teleported to a place where the [...]
**WARNING IMAGINATION REQUIRED** Imagine me in a Miss World competition. Obviously to do this, you'd have to believe I've abandoned any feminist ideals, grown a foot in height, enhanced my breasts and shrunk my waist. But, bear with me... Should I ever be a contestant on Miss World and the MC asks me what would be my one wish, it probably wouldn't be 'World [...]
Is it just me? Or does anyone else feel like they are desperately trying to keep their house in order whilst stopping themselves from falling over the edge? I’ve always enjoyed living life a little on the edge. I love travelling and feeling like the foreigner. I’ve even been known to eat something that is a day [...]
When I worked as a nurse in A&E, I knew that even in the middle of emergency procedures, how I treated the patient and family would be remembered. As a parent standing over my fitting son while the doctors fought to stop an hour long seizure, this simple fact went from theory to reality. As a healthcare professional [...]
I’ve heard it said, that the children come first. It’s a statement expressed in many forms. ‘It's the kids that matter.’ ‘You need to do what’s best for the children.’ But guess what? Sometimes, they DON’T. I've long held the belief that children aren’t the most important people in a family. I haven't dared to write about [...]
I wasn’t given any training to be a mum - I wish I had. Eleven years on, I can be both super human and super-useless in the same day. In truth, the super-human bit normally filters away by the time I get out of bed but in my dreams I nurture my children with ease and finesse. [...]
As much as I love the summer, I’m glad it is autumn. It's time to collect conkers and pick the last few blackberries. Although I will miss the brighter days and warm sun on my face, the summer is my toughest season.
"Grown-ups write letters to the council all the time but nine-year-old boys don't," I assured him. "We all need to say what we think is right, no matter how old we are."
It is a common phenomenon for parents of children with complex needs to hear 'No' from professionals and councils. A universal experience is our need to fight for our children.
'Me before you' is being challenged by the disability community. Parents of disabled children have been called to take a stand. So, here I am speaking out about how 'Me before you' affected me.
