It's just a bed...

William has so much specialist equipment provided mostly by the NHS. He has two oxygen concentrators, a nebuliser, feeding pump, standing frame, wheelchair, therapy chair, p-pod chair, acheeva bed, profiling bed, sats monitor, suction machine and sleep system to name but a few.

Baby William in his new bed

To me, all this equipment is part of William's life. Some of these things never leave his side. They help to keep him alive and well. They're part of our home and our daily life. And yet none of them belong to us and one day when William isn't here they will all be taken away. Our son will go and most of the things that surround him in day to day life will go too.

We've had William's bed since he was 15 months old. A lovely big profiling bed that has been such a massive help to us. It's been one of our longest serving pieces of equipment. William's bed is the one place where he calms down when he's grumpy and tired. He has always loved his bed and I've always believed he somehow knows his bed. He spends more time in his bed than anywhere else. Every night we shut William into his big cot and hope he'll stay safe until the morning.


For me, William's bed has always been the piece of equipment I always thought I'd struggle the most to see leave when William goes.

Big William on his last night in his bed

So this morning saw me saying goodbye to the bed. As William has gotten bigger and his other equipment has grown we've struggled with space, so we made the decision to change to a bed that does the same job but is better suited to our space restrictions.

I didn't think this bed would go before William so it felt really strange seeing it dismantled this morning and carried out. I took many photos of it yesterday so I'd remember it properly. It all seems to strange to feel so emotional about a change to a piece of furniture but, for me, the emotions of caring for a life limited child get so entwined with everything around him.

But onwards and upwards, the new bed is in, its much more practical (if a lot less pretty) and has allowed me to move all of William's bedroom around which always makes me happy!