Jane - Where are you now?

Jane as a four-year-old child when she overcame
paralysis and walked for the first time

Memories of a pretty little girl whose mother I interviewed  many years ago came flooding back recently  as I wrote on this blog about  about my early life as a trainee reporter. The four-year-old girl, called Jane, who lived on the Fylde Coast, was born with Spina Bifida, a condition which causes part of the spine to be exposed at birth. For the first eight months of her life Jane was paralysed from the waist down.

'We, like so many other parents, were told that our child would probably never walk, but we always had great faith in her,' her mother explained. 'One day, knowing full well the problem I was presenting, I said Come to Mummy. And she did.'

Over the years, I've often wondered what happened to that little girl. So, being a hoarder  as well as a lover of all things vintage, I  searched the attic for the elusive cutting, written  when I was still in my teens! To my amazement I found  an ancient scrapbook with the article intact.

Deciding not to put it through the scanner,  I reproduce the cutting here, (scrapbook and all) because I'd like to share the story with you. It begins: The day four-year-old Jane walked across the room into her mother's arms, she brightened the future of more than 8,000 children.


We've reached that future, Jane. I wonder-  where you are now?

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Jane's mother was an member of ASBAH - the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus which is still active today. If you need advice about the illness you can contact www.asbah.org