Friday 26 May 2017

A post from Granny Granny Gran

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

1 comment:

  1. Thats a super post..... wonderful example grandchildren are priceless xx

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