"When my 16-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer my world was rocked. I will never forget hearing the diagnosis, the shock, fear, numbness and terror.
It is at times like this that you need people who understand what you are going through and really care.
After my son recovered, I began to work at Rainbow Trust in the North East Care team. It is the most humbling job and I absolutely love it"
Monday - Sibling support and creating friendships
In the morning I collected 11-yearold Sienna, who has a serious blood condition, and Julie, her mum, from their home and dropped them at the Great North Children’s Hospital for an appointment. Sienna had a bone marrow transplant in April and has to go to hospital regularly for check ups.
I then took Sienna’s twin sister, Sophia, and their 13-year-old sister, Summer, with me to pick up eight-year-old Brooke, whose sister Summer Louise died from leukaemia last year, and six-year-old Nancy, who is affected by her brother Paddy’s rare genetic condition.
We went to Mister Twister’s, a local soft play and trampoline park close to Newcastle. The children had never met before but they all had a fabulous time playing and making new friends. Days out like this help siblings of seriously ill children to create support networks and to meet children in similar situations.
On the way back, the car was filled with laughter, singing and promises to keep in touch. Result!
Tuesday - A jam-packed day of support
I had an early start as 12-month-old Iris had a neurology appointment at hospital. I took her two-year-old sister, Ellie, to the local park for a fun play session, allowing Iris’ parents to focus on the appointment.
After that, I visited Maya. Maya’s only son, Henry, had neuroblastoma and died just before his third birthday. Maya and I talked about Henry and the impact of his life and death. Sharing memories brings her comfort. We then spent some time sorting out Henry’s grave, finishing off the inscription for the headstone and applying for funds to help pay for it. Afterwards, we went to the cemetery to spend time at his grave where Maya feels closer to him.
I headed back to the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle for the parent support group I host every Thursday. It is open to all parents and carers of children on the ward, not just families that we support. The group is a space for parents to listen, chat, laugh, cry and support each other.
I then visited nine-year-old Goodluck, who has the same life-limiting genetic disorder as Favour, his older brother. Today I took Goodluck out for some time to himself to play his favourite game, Sonic the Hedgehog. We parked in a multi storey car park and went in a glass lift, both of which
Goodluck had never been in before. He thought it was amazing! I have
provided the family with a variety of support, such as helping with their application for an Education, Health and Care Plan which will give Goodluck access to an education that meets his needs.
Wednesday - Team meeting and emergency deliveries
We have our team meetings on Wednesdays. We catch up, ask for advice, discuss upcoming training, have wellbeing sessions, and pair newly referred families with Family Support Workers. We also share news and family updates, supporting each other when needed.
After the meeting I went to a local community food bank to pick up some food, personal hygiene and household cleaning parcels for families.
The cost-of-living crisis is having a huge impact on many of the families we support. They face additional costs for food, travel, and bills and many struggle financially.
In the afternoon, I had planned to do some admin but I received an emergency call from a parent who was running very low on medication and wasn’t able to get it. I collected it from the hospital and took it to the family’s house. The flexible support we offer means that families know they have help whenever they need it.
Thursday - A fun-filled outing
Today we had a team outing to Nucastle Foundation, a sports and community centre in Newcastle who kindly let us use their facilities for free.
After picking up four children I support, we met up at the centre with the other Family Support Workers and some of the families they support.
We have these meet-ups regularly and they are great for forming friendships; the children are always happy to see each other. A great time was had by all and many meaningful memories made!
After dropping off the children, I did some admin before logging off to enjoy dinner with my family.
Friday - Noisy nursery support
On Friday I visited 21-month-old Daniel who was born with a serious heart condition, hyperplastic left heart syndrome, and spent the first year of his life in Freeman Hospital where he underwent various heart
surgeries. He and Dan, his dad, had to relocate to Newcastle to be closer to the hospital, leaving their support network of family and friends behind.
Previously I had helped Dan to find a great local nursery nearby so today I took Daniel to the nursery and supported him during his ‘settling in’ session. We focused on mobility and speech - it was quite noisy but Daniel is making good progress. He has a great sense of humour so we laughed a lot. This time that we are at nursery gives Dan much-needed rest and a couple of hours to himself.
To end the working week, I had a non-managerial supervision session with a trained, independent counsellor. We meet every month and she helps me to process what has been happening and understand my feelings.
Weekend - Family time
My two granddaughters came to stay - I cherish every minute that I spend with them. My family means the world to me and I never take a thing for granted.
