Hi my name is Lydia and I'm a mother to two gorgeous boys Cameron and Connor. 

My story started almost 2 years ago when I gave birth to Connor and got the surprise of my life when the doctors diagnosed him with trisomy 21 also known as Down's syndrome, and since that morning on May 9th 2014 it's been a roller coaster of a journey, unfortunately we have spent many occasions in and out of hospitals, hundreds of appointments and lots of scares. 

I took the diagnoses very hard and found it difficult to accept and to be honest I still have my days and that is most probably due to my fear of the unknown of my gorgeous boys future. 

At first many people told me to contact grove cottage, they could help me and my son and at first I did not want to know... You could almost say I had my head stuck in the sand, if I closed my eyes, than it wasn't happening but reality soon hit us and Connors developmental delays were becoming very obvious and we needed help. 

Than one day grove cottage heard about us and they called me and offered us help and I agreed.... Well that was the best thing I have ever done for me and for my son Connor, they have been a fantastic support and Connor is thriving he has come on so well, they spend the one on one time that he so needs and goes as fast or as slow as Connor requires them to go. With out grove cottage my son would not be where he is today, he still has a very long journey ahead of him but with grove cottage by his side, the future doesn't seem so scary anymore and I know they will do everything they can to guide him along.

And so I Lydia Hodgkins hold my hands up and say thank you to grove cottage and thank you to Connor, my fears and perception has changed for the better, I was wrong and you have proved me wrong , I'm jumping out of this plane for the both of you.