What if you walked in to a room, with a child (yours or one you love a lot) and in the corner there was a loaded gun? You knew it was loaded, but the child only knew it looked like fun. You would NEVER let that child near it, and you would get the heck out of there pronto. You would then do something about it. You wouldn’t think ‘it’s OK, the odds are slim that they’d actually shoot themselves and die’, you wouldn’t think, ‘out of sight, out of mind’. The protective instincts within us means we would protect-then sort the issue out.

I walk into rooms and often see our equivalent of loaded guns. It’s true, they aren’t as visible to the next person as they are to me, a mum of a child with Cystic Fibrosis.

Cystic Fibrosis awareness week is getting bigger and I believe more and more people know more about it due to the press it gets.

Are you our friend? Do you think you know enough to try help protect Lauren? Chances are you might know a bit from reading or talking to us. Here are a few simple things that are dangerous to Lauren-enough that we avoid them like you would a loaded gun:

Sponges

Bars of soap (only liquid in this house)

Damp undried cloths (all are air dried)

Flowers, unless the water is changes daily

Bottled water (for Lauren)

Any bottled water machines

Hay

Straw

Mould/Damp places areas

Wet toothbrushes (air dried again!)

Bath toys that hold water

The list goes on. The bugs that she can catch from these things leave her poorly like she is now.

I’m currently watching my child wither away until her peg feed is fitted pronto. The medicine makes her sick. It literally keeps us awake at night wondering what else we can do. We can’t protect her from everything, some of these germs live in the environment. It’s scary. I always have this sense of time is running out because I have no clue what the future holds-it’s consuming.

We try to educate others, but I have realised unless you love her like we do, there will always be something you don’t quite remember whether it’s dangerous or not. Our minds have to be encyclopedia’s of how to keep her safe. We want her to grow old with us. We want her to have many more birthdays, and celebrations, and Christmas’s and enjoy more holidays. We want for her what you would want for your child.

CF week is about spreading awareness so that people who may come across another family affected by CF, may have a little more understanding, compassion and want to help protect from any unseen loaded guns that may affect the health of a person.

I do love when people ask questions-even the hard ones. I am willing to answer. I have information and if you would like it then just ask. This little girl has changed my life in so many ways I couldn’t possibly put it all into words. I am a better person because I am her mother. I am a happier person. I am more scared of losing something than ever before. I am more protective. I am more accepting of things I don’t understand. She has affected me more than a thousand lifetimes without her.

Please support ~#CFawarenessweek2017

Please wear yellow on Friday

And if you like, you can donate to the CF trust via their facebook page

We will keep fighting the good fight with this smile to keep our hearts a bit lighter than they would be without it