The moment you learn your child is disabled, life begins to move with unstoppable speed in a different direction. Yes, there’s grief, but you come to realise there are also successes and adventures you’d never have known otherwise. And a disability doesn’t have to define your family – despite the challenges, my son’s zest for life makes me feel like the luckiest mum and I wouldn’t change a thing about him.
My pregnancy with Marcus was perfectly straightforward. In fact, we joke that it was the only part of his life that’s been normal. I’d chosen not to have any genetic screenings during pregnancy, and had a water birth in October 2004. Marcus weighed a healthy 7lb 15oz and it was wonderful to bring home a baby boy, as me and my husband Gary, then 35, had had our daughter Joely, 19 months earlier.
‘It wasn’t the life we imagined’
Marcus seemed to feed well, but after a month, he weighed 1lb below his birth weight. We began formula feeding, but he was sick after every bottle, so at seven weeks old he was admitted to hospital with ‘failure to thrive’. I’m quite a positive person and I’d been relaxed up until that point, reassured by the fact this wasn’t my first baby and I was confident in what I was doing. But hearing that my son wasn’t thriving felt like a personal failure as a mother.
Doctors inserted a feeding tube to control what was going in, and for four months, Marcus was subjected to endless tests, scans and biopsies to determine why he wasn’t growing. We’d found ourselves in a frightening new world, one where doctors stood around our baby’s cot with no idea what was wrong.
Bu hikaye WOMAN - UK dergisinin July 27, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye WOMAN - UK dergisinin July 27, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
What the NHS will really do about bunions
Dusting off your trusted sandals? Some of you might be experiencing a foot problem that nail varnish won’t be able to hide this summer…
View from THE BACK
Isabel Webster says what youre thinking
Weekend FEASTS
Easy dishes for relaxed entertaining this bank holiday
I only send one of my kids to PRIVATE SCHOOL
Jane* worries that her son will resent her for sending his sister to a posh prep and not him
Bare all and...RELAX
Experiencing a German spa where you're expected to go nude isn't so bad, says Catherine Lawler
Men never want to LEAVE ME
Samantha Brick believes knowing what men want is the reason she’s never been dumped
Want the PERFECT SMILE?
Dontworry, we've done the hard work for you these affordable teeth treatments and easy tricks are worth trying
Are you being WATCHED?
After Fern Britton revealed her two-year stalking hell, Woman investigates the true impact such a crime can have on victims
The ROYAL INSIDER
CHARLES BACK WITH A BANG BUT MILES APART FROM HARRY
What's next FOR PHIL?
One year on from his ITV departure, Woman takes a look at Phillip Schofield's career demise, and his hopes for a comeback