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Sue is a mum in a million

The circumstances that Karen Glover, 30, and her family have faced together have been about as tough as they can get, but the constant support of her mother-in-law has been invaluable

When friends of mine joke about their nightmarish mothers-in-law, I won't hear any of it. In the 14 years I've been with my husband, Scott, 34, his mum, Sue, 60, has been like a second mum to me. She was there for us when Daniel, 9, was born with club feet in October 2000 and, without Sue, I don't know how we'd have coped with the devastating news that Jake, 4, has a rare, life-limiting condition. Her emotional support and care since his diagnosis in July 2007 have been amazing. There's nothing she won't do, whether it's rushing to mine when I've been crying on the phone to her, helping out with school runs or looking after the boys. Because she's so incredible, we try to make Mother's Day as special as we can for her.

Jake seemed healthy when he was born in March 2005, until he reached nine months and his development slowed down. We didn't think much of it at first, but when he missed many milestones and his teeth started rotting, alarm bells began to ring. We saw several specialists at Epsom Hospital, Surrey, but it wasn't until July 2007 that we found out Jake has fucosidosis, an incurable condition that means he's missing the enzyme that breaks down waste in the body, causing progressive damage to cells and organs.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I broke down in tears, as thoughts of the future, what I'd tell Scott and Daniel, and what Jake was going through spun through my mind. Sue was the first person I called and she left work immediately to come and see me.

We had follow-up appointments at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Addenbrookes, Cambridge. There's little information about fucosidosis, but symptoms include delayed development, impaired growth, muscle stiffness and seizures. But one fact kept coming up, that Jake wouldn't be expected to live past his fifth birthday.

I told Sue I didn't know if we'd cope, but she reassured me I was strong enough and we'd find a way. I wanted to give up work as a photographer, but she said I'd need to get away sometimes and she'd be there to help.

Even though we had support from Sue and Scott's dad, John, 61, dealing with Jake's care needs was hard. Our GP referred us to Christopher's children's hospice, Guildford. I was reluctant to go, I felt I'd be a bad mum if I let anyone else care for him. But when I met the staff and other parents, I realised it was OK to get extra help. The hospice is out of this world. Jake is allowed to be a little boy there, he can roam around and no one says no.

Sue's constant support has been invaluable, and I'm glad we can show her what she means to us by treating her on Mother's Day. It'll be a day of celebration, but also an emotional one as, a week later, on 22 March, it's Jake's fifth birthday. Although we firmly believe we have longer with him, all we can do is take every day as it comes, and having both Sue and Christopher's there for us makes it all a lot less daunting.