DAD'S the word

To celebrate Father's Day, we meet the chaps who come up trumps every day

- WORDS: ELLIE FENNELL

Luke and Harry (with Lizzie and their dog Robin, above) make the perfect team

LUKE'S BEAUTIFUL BOOK IS A LOVE LETTER TO OUR SON

Lizzie Hawker, 35, is an interior designer. She lives in Surrey with her artist husband Luke, 38, son Harry, five, and daughter Iris, eight months.

I'm sometimes surprised at Luke's focus as a dad. He's an artist with a head full of ideas so, before children, he could often seem distracted.

Now he spends hours zoned in on our kids’ activities. His ability to speak through images is invaluable in communicating with our son Harry, who is nonverbal.

When I watch Luke bringing to life ideas, like what love is, by drawing small artworks, or patiently helping Harry make himself understood, I feel so lucky that Harry has this kind, gentle, understanding man as his father.

We first realised that Harry wasn't hitting the same milestones as other children when he was one, but didn’t think there was anything seriously wrong until he was diagnosed with having an extra X chromosome. We had never heard of this nonhereditary condition before, so we felt anxious as to what it meant in the long term. It was terrifying when he was hospitalised with respiratory issues time and time again.

A turning point came when we made contact with a wonderful guy called Ryan in the US, who has the condition, lives a full life and runs a community called Living With XXY. Thanks to his advice, some of our worst fears were allayed.

Having fun on the allotment, and with Lizzie and Iris (right)

Shared joy