Family support
A family in County Durham had their lives thrown into turmoil when their four year old daughter, Lillie, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Lillie has a twin sister, Poppy, and her mum, Shirley, was about to give birth to their third child.
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Following diagnosis, Lillie underwent surgery. Then the family were told that a treatment protocol of both chemotherapy and radiotherapy was required to ensure the best possible outcome. Lillie's family had to find a way to deal with repeated trips to hospital with their sick child while coping with their new daughter, Willow, and twin sister, Poppy.
Rainbow Trust Family Support Manager, Steph Himlin, visited the family to assess how Rainbow Trust could help. Initially Lillie’s mother, Shirley, was reluctant to accept support; she was anxious about introducing another person to their children and felt that she should be able to cope alone. The Family Support Worker, Jill Sibbald, outlined ways that she could offer non-intrusive support to enable Shirley to spend time with all of her children and attend hospital appointments. She also spent time with each of the girls, playing with the older two and helping them with craft activities allowing Shirley to spend time with her new baby and for their father to return to work.
“Our Family Support Worker has shown understanding and warmth towards every family member including grandparents, always taking time to listen. We are so pleased she gave equal time to our other children, playing and doing activities which was probably the most important help to us during this difficult time.” Lillie’s Mum
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