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Fostering Blog | Alice’s Break

Fulltime Foster Carer - Harriet author of: A Less Ordinary Family

Fostering Blog | Alice’s Break

Tuesday’s Fostering Blog

Although we have now been away for three days I don’t think we ever really switch off from the job of fostering. Every trip we take, we are thinking about the logistics of how we would take Alice on that trip in her wheelchair, every walk down to the beach, every trip to a historic site, we simply cannot switch off thinking about our foster daughter – it is just second nature.

Today we spent most of the day on the beach, Lauren spent most of that time digging a hole and then filling it in with Charlie sitting in it. The rest of the time we went paddling and the girls went bodyboarding. It would have been pretty impossible even getting the wheelchair down onto this beach as we took a coastal path weaving down the side of a cliff face. With the golden sand it would have been incredibly hard to push a wheelchair onto the beach and then once we are on the beach there is really very little Alice could have done. Without being able to walk she can’t get across the sand or paddle.

When we have taken Alice to the beach on previous occasions we have had to be so careful not to get sand down her splints, because she cannot feel her legs, a simple grain of sand can cause all sorts of problems like sores if not discovered.

It would be less difficult if she could understand the situation herself and at least try to be careful but with her learning difficulty she really does not get it and therefore we end up being very over protective and a little bit of a nag – which isn’t fun for anyone. So we make the most of a care free day, being able to walk coastal paths sitting on the sand and paddling in the sea – remembering to enjoy the time together and resting in the assurance that Alice is being taken care of and doing activities that are more suitable for her.

A Less Ordinary Family Foster Care Blog

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