Todays blog is a guest post
from my mum.....
My name is Karon,
Catherine’s Mum and Granny to Alfie or Gran when he wants to tease me - my
little super hero!
I am going to try not to
repeat what has already been said, but I do want to say something that I
probably have not said directly to Catherine and Lee and that is they are
amazing parents.
It has not been an easy 4
years for any of our close family but in particular Alfie and his loving and
caring Mummy and Daddy. From the day Alfie was born I have tried to help
Catherine and Lee out as much as I possibly can trying not to forget the rest
of my family. It has been a juggling act sometimes, but one act I would not
even think twice about doing.
In the first few weeks I
spent a lot of time helping to bath, cream and bandage Alfie, feeling very
scared that I wasn’t doing the right thing, using the right creams, cutting the
bandages the right length and using the right colour bandages for each part of
his very tiny body. I felt the need to know how to do all of this in
order to give Catherine and Lee a break if they needed it.
We have shed a lot of tears
but we have also had a lot of laughter, the first time I said to Catherine and
Lee, pop out and do some shopping, have a cuppa, don’t hurry or worry I will be
fine looking after Alfie. On their arrival home, skin-wise all was well!
The sofa however had suffered a nappy explosion, I was trying to change Alfie’s
nappy on my lap…. Never again!!
Catherine and Lee have
probably thought I have been very heartless and emotionless (editors note: we definitely
100% don’t think that!) at
times but I have tried not to get upset in front of them and never in front of Alfie,
I saved all my tears usually for the journey home. As parents and
Grandparents all you wish for is for your children and grandchildren to be
healthy, I would swap with any of them any day if I could.
As Catherine has already
said, Alfie loves to come to our house for a sleepover and would dearly love to
live here and when I asked him why, his reply was, because I love you Granny. I
said what about mummy, daddy and Rene, his reply, well they could come too! He
melts my heart.
When he first came to stay
without his parents I must admit I was very apprehensive, still worried I
wasn’t using the right creams and bandages, whether I had burst the blisters ok
and what dressings should I use. This is so much easier now, Alfie just tells
me what cream he needs and is absolutely fine when I burst his blisters, which
I am pleased to say are very few and far between now.
Alfie sleeps in Catherine’s
old bedroom, (soon to be shared with his sister Rene and cousin Phoebe). We
have a "drawerfullofcream" and dressings etc., but I am pleased to
say I don’t have to use the dressings as often now. I particularly
remember 1 day last summer using about 7 needles to burst blisters. As I burst
1, another and another would pop up. Holding back the tears while I did
it, I was probably singing songs or Alfie was probably reciting the Alphabet
forwards and backwards and then quickly, or he would be singing the
"Granny's slippers smell of cheese" song. Not true I might add! (another editors note: they
actually do smell pretty bad, sorry mum!)
Alfie is such a loving
child, he has brought so much happiness to our lives I cannot remember what it
was like now without our 3 beautiful grandchildren. Ichthyosis has brought us
very close as a family.
Xx
Thats a super post..... wonderful example grandchildren are priceless xx
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