Deborah says: " At 25 years old I had the world at my feet. I was still in the 'innocent' post childhood phase where life is just dandy, fun and exciting. I was newly married and I had a beautiful son aged a year and a half. On route to the hospital to give birth to my second child, I prided myself on my organisational skills; the house was tidy, freshly cooked meals were in the freezer, the nursery was ready and my hospital bag had been packed weeks before. Then my baby girl was born. I sobbed with excitement and happiness, my prayers had been answered. My husband brought her too me as I anticipated my first glance at my daughter. I froze. I blinked ferociously and repeatedly to clear my eyes, I thought the pain relief was deceiving me. It was as if time stood painfully still as I realised that my little baby girl had Down's syndrome. I was devastated, heartbroken and utterly traumatised:
"There can be no preparation for a moment like this. There is no manual that instructs you on what to do or how to react. You are simply stunned into grief; a lonely, isolated place where you are not yet ready to clamber onto a glimmer of hope or acceptance. Nothing can be said or done to alleviate the pain. It was a moment suspended in time that would haunt me for years to come."
Chapter 1, A Brief Moment in Time
A year later I sat in the offices of a Clinical Psychologist and felt my heart break all over again as I listened to the doctor deliver a diagnosis that said my elder son, then aged two and a half years old, had high functioning Autism. At that moment, I had no idea how I would make it through."
A Brief Moment in Time is a heartfelt and honest account that allows the reader to take a glimpse of Deborah's life and what it feels like to raise two children with special needs.
Latest review:
"I am honoured to be asked to write a review and testimonial for this book and its author. I was fortunate to be one of their doctors. These parents coped admirably with many challenges, revealing only in the book how much was going on under the surface. The book outlines the remarkable story of this family, dealing with two children with difficulties, resulting in the reader sharing the tears of the writer. It is beautifully and strongly written from the heart. We know as doctors how difficult it is to give unwelcome news, but seldom receive feedback about the impact of that process, and of how little throw away comments can have a lifelong impact. I think every parent planning a family should read this, but maybe more importantly every medical student and doctor should read it and learn from it. This is a wonderful family who have had to solve a lot of difficult issues, sometimes by trial and error, and their experience could be of benefit to others who find themselves in equally challenging situations."
Dr Nathan Hasson, Consultant Paediatrican and Paediatric Rheumatologist, Affilate of the Royal College of Child Health