Pick Me Up! Special March 2019

There should be a little sprinkle of magic in everyone’s lives and Rachelle (pg41) is literally making dreams come true with her job as a real life princess! Dani (pg64) and her adorable pup Barney know how to put a smile on people’s faces too. As always, we’re amazed by your stories of strength and this month, we revisit Vanessa’s story (pg16). She was so poorly, her sister had to visit her bedside on her wedding day, fearing Vanessa wouldn’t make it. Vanessa is now planning her own wedding. Little Ronnie (pg62) had a stroke at 19 months and faces a tough road ahead but he finds a way to show his mummy he’s still fighting. Giving up isn’t in Danielle’s vocabulary either (pg46). Whatever her daughter Teighan has to…

Sneaky cuddles My friend’s baby Renee is just so adorable. I’m round her house almost every day now, just to get some cuddles in! Anna, Devon Surprise, you're famous! My best friends Rachael and Jessica are always doing everything together. They didn't know that I sent this photo in, so this will be a big surprise! Lucy, Sheffield Summer memories Love hanging out with my cousin Jenny. This was taken on holiday last summer, and I can't wait for our next adventure. Rachel, Eastbourne Right place, right time I love this picture of my closest friends and I at a wedding a few weeks ago. We were all mates at school, but now it's hard to all get together in the same place, so this was a treasured moment! Leigh-anne,…

Stepping down the aisle, I looked around at adoring faces gazing at me. There were only 20 guests in the church, but that’s all I needed… And the man of my dreams, starry-eyed at the altar. I came to a stop next to my security guard fiancé, Pete, 30. ‘You look gorgeous,’ he whispered, smiling. ‘You too,’ I said. It was 31 January 2000, and I was wearing a simple cream, knee-length dress and jacket. Divorced once already, I wanted to focus on the things that were important this time. Not the flowers or the gown, but our vows. We promised to stick together forever – for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health… We celebrated afterwards at our local pub, and then settled into married life. But over…

The tiny baby lay in his cot, silent as a mouse. ‘He won’t live to see his first birthday,’ the doctor said to another set of prospective foster parents for little Josh. ‘He’s not for us,’ they said, as the social worker led them out. Josh, now seven, had been born in the same hospital that I worked in, just a couple of weeks before, in March 2011. He was quickly diagnosed with congenital myotonic dystrophy, a condition without a cure which affects muscle tone and which is life-limiting. His birth mother suffered with the adult version of the condition and was therefore incapable of looking after him. So he remained on the ward, as social workers tried to find him a home. I’d become a nurse in 1982 and…

An adorable calf saved from slaughter has become best friends – with a dog. Calvin the cow and Lincoln, an Australian shepherd, have been completely inseparable since the moment they met at the Black Goat Farm and Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada. Calvin escaped death Calvin was born at a nearby dairy farm, but was due to be slaughtered. Cows on dairy farms must keep giving birth in order to continue producing milk, so the calves are usually removed from their mothers and shipped off to be killed for the meat trade. Lucky for Calvin, he was rescued by the sanctuary, where he was able to see the sky and run around freely for the first time. ‘At the dairy farm, Calvin lived in a concrete pen, he never got to…

Scooping the last of the powder into the bottle, I smiled at my five-month-old daughter Myah. ‘Looks like someone needs some more milk,’ I cooed. After Myah’s feed, I took her to Lloyds Pharmacy. There, I got some Aptamil Hungry Milk formula for Myah, and flu medicine for me, as I had a cold. At 5pm, I fed Myah with the new formula, and again at 8pm. Then I tucked her up in her cot. I went to bed, too, hoping an early night might help my cold. But at 2am, I was woken by a piercing cry. Racing to soothe Mayah, I saw she was holding her tummy and wailing. I thought she was hungry, so I gave her another bottle. But she didn’t seem herself, and took a…