The chance to be a normal teenager
 There is one big difference, however. Craig is confined to a wheelchair as he suffers from duchennes muscular dystrophy — the worst form of the progressive muscle-wasting condition there is.
Diagnosed at the age of two, he has been given a life expectancy only as far as his early twenties.
His parents, Phil and Sue, do everything in their power to make sure Craig leads as packed a life as possible — even once taking him up Mount Snowdon in a wheelchair.
But caring full-time can cause a few stresses and strains. And that’s before you even get to the regular tensions brought on by being a teenager.
So when one of Craig’s regular trips to Rachel House comes around, there’s usually a huge sigh of relief in the Mather household.
And that comes from Craig as much as anyone else. “It’s good to get away. We can get on each other’s nerves,” he jokes.
Phil agrees. “Going to Rachel House is a two-way thing. It’s just as much a breather for him as it is for Sue and me.”
Opportunity
Recently, Craig has been heading south from the family home near Huntly to join up with other teenage lads for a weekend at Rachel House. It gives him the opportunity to be a normal teenager.
“It certainly seems that a bit of mayhem goes on,” says Phil. “They can do pretty much what they please, although the staff do try to add a bit of structure by setting up themes such as a horror night.
“And I know for a fact that
Craig stays up much later when he’s at Rachel House.
“When he’s at home I get him dressed in the morning before going to work, so that means an early start. But at Rachel House he always takes the opportunity to lie in as long as possible.”
While having fun is a vital part
of the trip, meeting people of his own age who also suffer from duchennes muscular dystrophy
is just as important.
Finding others in the same situation as himself makes it
easier for Craig to speak about his problems — worries he might not want to burden his parents with.
But discovering there are people he can relate to has given Craig the confidence to make friends with teenagers in his everyday life.
And with the new hospice in Balloch to have a dedicated teenage room, Sue hopes it will help him open up more and more.
“Craig can be a bit quiet, but going to Rachel House has made
it easier for him to get on with people of his own age,” she says.
“He goes to school and to college and he’s really good friends with the lad next door.
“The new teenage room will be great for him — a place he can go and be himself while we know
he’s being looked after and don’t have to worry.” |
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hospice@sundaypost.com
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Rachel House is great for Craig and his 
