Caitlin’s Wish By Victoria Taylor
Caitlin’s Wish is a storybook written for children who have a disabled or sick family member, relative or friend. It is a magical fairytale with a twist. Enabling young carers to see their role from a different perspective, and enabling those not affected by disability to get an insight into what being a young carer is really like!
Victoria wrote it for her daughter, Adele-Caitlin when she found it hard to come to terms with her father’s disability. Adele-Caitlin was only 2 yrs old when her father was diagnosed with a rare brain condition called Intracranial Hypertension (IH). She was so young that she just accepted the situation. It was only when she went to school that she started to compare her life with others and realised that her life was different. She felt so sad and isolated by her situation, but was too young to access any support. (There is very little support for young carers under the age of 8 yrs old.)
Inspired to try and make a difference, Victoria wrote the book with young carers in mind. The book helps them to see the positive elements in their lives rather than dwelling on the negatives. The book really helped Adele-Caitlin to see her life from a different perspective. She realised that disability and illness can affect anyone at anytime in their life, and it’s no-one’s fault. That’s just the way it is. She learned to think of the things that her Dad could do now, rather than dwelling on what he couldn’t do anymore.
Looking for the positive elements in her life rather than focusing on the negative. Caitlin’s Wish has been beautifully illustrated by a very talented artist, Claire Wiles. The book has been published in the hope that it might help other children.
These days Adele-Caitlin and Chris both attend the Crossroads Young Carer’s Project and the family receive an amazing amount of support from Crossroads Care. Victoria adds “Crossroads Care is a lifeline to us, and I am so grateful for the difference they have made to our lives!”
Victoria is also involved in the IH awareness campaign. She adds “IH is an invisible illness where the person looks “fine” when they are not! Old names for IH include Pseudotumor Cerebri and Benign Intracranial Hypertension. Most people have never heard of it, including many in the medical profession.
“Intracranial hypertension” literally means that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure within the skull is too high. Chronic intracranial hypertension (IH) is a serious neurological disorder that can cause severe headaches, vision loss, blindness and life-altering disability. No two cases are the same, making it a difficult condition to manage. Anyone can develop chronic IH at anytime in their life. Currently there is no cure!
The IH Research Foundation is working hard to improve the lives of people with IH. They have helped us to learn so much about the condition; enabling us to rebuild our lives, and learn to cope with IH. We need to raise awareness about this devastating condition, and then IH sufferers might get treated with the compassion they deserve!”
Caitlin’s Wish is available to order now, published by AuthorHouse. 25% of the royalties from every book sold will be going to Crossroads Care (www.crossroads.org.uk) and the IH Research Foundation (www.ihrfoundation.org)