It was September 2018 and I’d known Alice would love school – and, sure enough, she’d settled in, coming home most days in a flurry of excitement and with a new piece of work. ‘This one’s for you, Mummy,’ she’d grin, and I’d proudly pin every piece to the fridge.
Me and Alice’s dad, Lewis, then 25, had split when she was a baby and, while we shared custody, day to day it was usually just me and Alice, and we’d developed a close bond. She’d often creep into bed with me in the middle of the night. ‘Love you,’ she’d whisper, wrapping her little arms around me.
Only, one night, I noticed she felt hot, and when she complained of a headache, I kept her home from school.
‘I think it’s a virus,’ I told Lewis’ mum, Trudy, then 51, as I dropped Alice round before going to work as a coordinator at a law firm. Trudy promised to watch her closely, and that afternoon she texted to say Alice had perked up.
Yet, it didn’t last, and by the time I got Alice home that evening, she was being sick and had a temperature again.
Concerned, I stayed up watching her most of the night as she tossed and turned. Then, when she woke up with worry: something about her face wasn’t quite right. Usually, it was perfectly symmetrical, but now it looked lopsided and her left cheek and jaw were drooping.
More than a virus
Esta historia es de la edición February 10, 2020 de WOMAN'S OWN.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 10, 2020 de WOMAN'S OWN.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Is it ever OK to lie about your age?
Kaye Adams has done it, and even Mel B jokes that she doesn't believe friend Geri Horner is 51. We ask...
‘I DIDN'T THINK.I'D SEE MUM AGAIN'int ICAT AFAR
MelB on rebuilding her life rebuilding her life after her abusive’ marriage
8 WAYS TO BECOME A MORNING PERSON
Improve body and mind with just a few simple tweaks to your daily routine
WHY YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST LOVE
(laire Dore, 50, learnt a lot from her first serious relationship
WHAT'S THE NAKED ATTRACTION ?
After a host of celebrities admitted to stripping off behind closed doors, Natalie Brown, 43, decided to bare all to find out just what all the fuss was about
MY FURY AT BEING A GRAN AT 52
Shona Sibary was far from excited when her eldest daughter welcomed her first child
A YEAR IN THE MAKING
Many of us shy away from drastic change but for these three women, it was just what they needed
I LOST 6ST AND FOUND THE REAL ME!
Shay Al-Ajami May, 32, was fed up pretending to be happy, so she decided to make it a reality
WHAT DO YOUR FEET SAY ABOUT YOUR HEALTH?
From heart disease to arthritis, here’s what they might be trying to tell you…
HOW CAN WE HELP OUR CHILDREN?
With more young people facing mental-health crises, we investigate what needs to be done