Pick Me Up! 17-Jan-2019

Growing up, the last thing you want to see is your parents kissing! ‘Get a room you two,’ I’d scoff. To which they’d just respond by making some over-the top kissing noises. My mum Alison and dad Alan were blissfully happy together. Dad had been Mum’s rock, helping her when she lost both her parents. They were more than husband and wife, they were also best friends. But, last May, Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, Eight weeks later he died and our worlds crashed down. He was gone before their 25th wedding anniversary and that really crushed Mum. I knew she was distraught, but she stayed strong for me. We were both grieving, I’d lost my dad, but Mum had lost her soulmate. Still, she held the family together…

Our new baby Jaxon with one of his bigger sisters Harper, who is 22 months old. Jaxon is the first little prince in our family! Jeri Bradfield, via e-mail My son Lucas just completed his first triathlon and I couldn’t be prouder of him. Lindsey Smith, Shrewsbury Daisy was really getting into her new favourite magazine. She must take after her mummy and daddy. Daniel Wainwright, via e-mail Matthew looks like he’s having a kicking great time on his holiday. The Grand Canyon is completely amazing! Angela Cooper, Great Torrington Here’s a picture of my partner, Mark Dabbs, who is a nurse at Walsall hospital. He recently celebrated more than 30 years of continuous service on the wards of our glorious NHS. Sophie Knight, Walsall I felt so lucky meeting…

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Kicking my legs as fast as I could, my body felt heavy in the water, a sense of panic growing. Then I looked up, saw a big familiar smile. ‘You can do it!’ my dad William called. And, just like that, I had all the confidence in the world and was swimming into his open arms. By the time I climbed out of the pool that day, I wasn’t scared of swimming any more. Mum’s hands were trembling. ‘Where’s Daddy?’ I whispered Dad was my hero. Made everything seem possible. From difficult Maths homework to riding a bike without stabilisers, he helped me with everything growing up. He adored our mum Margaret, you could tell that by the way he looked at her. Like she was a Hollywood starlet. He…

Ididn’t sleep a wink that night, lay there in agonising pain, feeling overwhelmingly confused. In my mind, the words he’d said as he raped me played over and over. ‘You’ve wanted this, you’ve always wanted this...’ The next day, I spotted blood running down my leg and I knew I couldn’t hide it from Mum. ‘It’s your period,’ she explained. Staring at her with wide eyes, I couldn’t tell Mum the truth Staring at her with wide eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth, that her evil partner had taken my virginity. Luckily, after living with Graham for 18 months, Mum uncovered an affair and threw him out of our house. ‘It’s over,’ I thought. Only, it wasn’t that easy. Graham’s actions had changed the course of my…

Hurrying along the corridor, I glanced down at my watch. 5.30pm. No! I thought. He’s probably left already. But as I rushed into the Dialysis unit at Basildon University Hospital, my heart did a little skip. He’s still here! I didn’t know his name, but I knew every tattoo on the muscular forearms of the buff, bearded guy who was now pulling his coat on to leave. For a second, our eyes met, and Mr Hottie gave a nod, which I returned. Our way of acknowledging what we were both going through. We were both dialysis patients, and three times a week we’d both come to the unit for treatment. Aged 3, I’d been diagnosed with diabetes. And so had started a life of insulin injections and blood-sugar monitoring. Over…