Pick Me Up! 28-Mar-2019

Being a grandparent is great fun. You get to enjoy looking after little ones again, but the bonus is you can give them back. But my brother Billy, 62, and his wife Sue, 63, go above and beyond in their roles as grandpa and grandma. They lost their son - my dear nephew Darren, 36, in November 2015. It was a total shock to all of us, and so heartbreaking for the whole family, least of all the four boys he left behind. Even though Billy and Sue were grieving, they never let it show in front of the grandkids. Instead, they rallied and made every day count. Now they’re always taking the boys, and their two other granddaughters, to parties, swimming or even on holidays. And rather than tears…

This was our baby boy Jett’s first selfie. I think he might be camera-shy, unlike me and my fiance Grant. Stacy Gibson, Wordsley My baby boy Bailey, 2, says he thinks he can follow in Daddy’s footsteps – I say he will need to grow a little bit more, though. Louise Brewer, Hyde It’s still cold out there so wrap up warm like our little Rosa, 18 months! I don’t think there’s anything cuter than a baby or toddler in a snowsuit! Nina Rees, Swansea My granddaughter Effie, 7, loves snuggling up with her new rescue pup Ellie. Vanessa Tolson, Tadley I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cuter sight than baby Eden laughing with her daddy Matt. Lisa Rule, Penzance My nieces Sophie, 17, and Katie, 18, and I…

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Unzipping her jacket, my daughter Georgina, then 9, flashed me a cheeky smile. ‘Don’t tell Dad,’ she whispered, pulling out a tiny kitten. ‘Not another stray,’ I groaned. My cheeky, free-spirited girl was such a charmer, it was hard to say no. So we kept the kitten, and named him Barney. He was one of many! And it wasn’t just animals she’d take in... Outgoing Georgina easily made friends with strangers, striking up a conversation on the train or bus. ‘Don’t be so trusting,’ I’d say. But you could never tell her what to do. After finishing school at 16, she went to catering college. Like her older sister Sara, 20, and younger twins Arij and Sonya, 12, she loved to cook. But a year on, Georgina quit to take…

Days blurred into each other as we waited for any scrap of news that would reassure us Georgina was OK. Without Georgina, there’s a massive hole in our lives ‘I just want her home,’ I wept to my girls. Every few weeks, officers showed me new CCTV footage of young women they believed were Georgina. But, within an instant, I’d know by the way they walked or held themselves... Not my girl. ‘You’re sure?’ they’d ask. ‘I know my own child,’ I choked, devastated it wasn’t her. The weeks, then months, went by without news. I couldn’t sleep or eat, felt anxious all the time. I uploaded video appeals on Facebook - one had over 10,000 views. There were reported sightings of Georgina as far off as Leeds. None came…

Desperate to watch the end of Corrie , I could barely keep my eyes open. ‘I’m so exhausted all the time,’ I groaned to my boyfriend Paul, 25, one evening in November 2014. ‘Not surprising,’ he said. I was 16-weeks pregnant with my first baby, after all. But I had more reason than most to worry. ‘I’m afraid your baby is killing you,’ a doctor told me As a baby, I’d been diagnosed with a genetic disorder called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1AD). It meant I could develop liver or lung diseases in adulthood. Until now, aged 22, I’d been able to cope without medication, but as I slumped on the sofa, I was starting to wonder. Had my pregnancy kick-started my symptoms? The next day, I booked an appointment with…