Your stories
22nd October 2021
"During this session both families attended, and Connor and Arthur met. They really hit it off."
Both Connor and Arthur had not met anyone else with the same condition before. Both families had received support from Shine for different issues over the last couple of years for the boys conditions but the boys themselves had not had much contact with Shine directly.
During support calls last year both families decided to join their local WhatsApp group in the Devon area where the parents were able to access peer-to-peer support remotely.
This year the Little Stars Team offered an opportunity for this regional WhatsApp group to have a closed Zoom session and meet each other. During this session both families attended, and Connor and Arthur met. They really hit it off and enjoyed a good chat about a mixture of things, but mainly their shared love of Lego and Nerf guns.
The parents managed to chat a little but the boys stole the show! One of the boys was quite shy and it was so lovely to watch him chatting away so confidently on the call. The question then came up about where they both lived, and they realised they were only 20 mins away from each other. They both asked their families if they could meet one day. After the Zoom session we were made aware of both families had got in touch with each other already and started to plan a date to meet up.
The boys met in a local park and had a great time together. Hannah, Arthur’s mum said – “It has been so helpful to meet another family with a child with spina bifida. Arthur is at the age where he needs to know that he isn’t alone and that there are others dealing with similar things." It was so lovely to see him and Connor getting on so well, playing and laughing together so naturally.”
After they meet Arthur said “I really liked that Connor was really funny and friendly, and I really want to meet him again.”
After the Zoom session, Dawn, Connor’s mum said – “It was really lovely and I haven’t seen Connor like that on Zoom before. He has already said he wants to meet up with Arthur, thanks so much for organising.”
After the boys met, their mums shared pictures with Shine. Dawn said “It was a great day and it has also paved the way for some local based activities that Connor is considering doing with Arthur." Connor said “Arthur is one of my new best friends.” They have plans made to meet again and have a Nerf gun battle!
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