Rachel*, 34, lives with her husband and 19-month-old son David. Rachel also lives with Cerebral Palsy, which has brought many challenges to becoming a mum.
Not only did Rachel face challenges physically, but after a healthy pregnancy, she also developed post-natal depression, and her world became a very ‘dark and horrible’ place.
In this blog, Rachel talks about how the support of Home-Start Bradford District has helped to take her from the darkness back into a world of colour.
Rachel’s Story
When my baby was very little, trying to support his head was very difficult. The easiest way to describe my condition is that it is like I have had a stroke down my right-hand side. I therefore only have the full use of my left hand and barely any use of my right hand, so I struggle with lifting.
My husband works from home, so I am fortunate to have him around if I need him to help with something around the house. But as I was so ill with post-natal depression, I hadn’t been getting out and about. Being a mother can be a very lonely experience, especially in the early days and physically it was so demanding – I felt very isolated.
I had some mental health support from the Early Help team and my support worker witnessed me trying to get up with my baby, while leaning against a wall and saw how challenging it was to just do that never mind getting out and about! It was after that I was referred to Home-Start Bradford District for additional support. I thought I would give it a go – I certainly had nothing to lose.
From the moment of the ‘matching visit, when Volunteer and Family Support Worker Trudi introduced me to Christine, I knew that this support would help. Trudi had already assured me that she would get me a good match and I knew straight away from speaking to her that she would. And she got it spot on!
It takes a while to build up a relationship, but I knew Christine was definitely the right match. Initially she helped me to get out and about – my house has a lot of steps outside, so negotiating them with my condition and a baby in a pram was an issue.
She initially took me to a local toddler’s group, which I loved, and it was so lovely to get to know other mums. We would also go to the local park – it made such a difference to know that I was getting out of the house a couple of hours a week with support.
For the year that I needed support, both Trudi and Christine have been amazing. They made me realise that I was growing alongside my baby, things would change for the better as he developed and that I would learn things from him. I now go to the playgroup and watch him playing and just enjoy all the things he does.
They also helped with advice around weaning, Christine used to work as a dietician, so had lots of useful tips and guidance for me. By the time we were coming to the end of my period of support, we would go to the park with David and laugh and chat like old friends.
What a super, powerful and valuable organisation Home-Start Bradford District is! I feel so much gratitude to them as they have just completely turned my life around for the better. My world was very dark, horrible and black and white and I can now see things in vibrant colour.
*names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals
To find out more about becoming a Home-Start Bradford District Volunteer, visit the volunteering section of our website.
To find out more about how we support families, visit the support section of our website.
