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Alex was 10 when he joined us in 2010. His helpers were Georgie and Joe. His parents tell us about their thoughts in deciding whether Alex should come with us, and how the experience benefitted the whole family.
     
"We first heard about HCPT through our local church when Richard came to do some fundraising – after Mass, several of Alex’s friends from church came over and said “Alex should go”!
I knew nothing about the charity and had never been to Lourdes myself, and my first instinct was to say no because Alex had never been away from us before. But I agreed to find out more and as soon as we met Roxy and Richard and saw the photos from the previous year we realised what a great opportunity it would be for Alex.
The preparations were really thorough – the team had thought of everything. Alex got to know the other children and his helpers before they went, so by Easter Sunday when we waved them off on the coach, we felt he was amongst friends – in fact, he waved us off without a backward glance!
During the week away we followed the photos on the website and got texts from his helper, so we always felt involved. While he was away we spent some quality time with Alex’s sister, who got some special attention, so for the whole family it was a fantastic experience. I think Alex would go every year if he could!
It was a huge milestone for us all, letting Alex go away without us, but we are so glad we were brave enough to take the plunge!" |
