|
Words from our winners
Congratulations to the 2000 Making a Difference Award winners, presented at the 2001 MBC Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Elizabeth Bryan - International Making A Difference Award
Elizabeth Bryan was born and spent her childhood years in Yorkshire. She  trained at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, qualifying in 1966. She then specialised in paediatrics, working mainly in York and at Hammersmith Hospital, London.
A lasting interest in twins and higher multiple births first arose from a chance opportunity to meet a hundred mothers of twins during a study of the function of the placenta. She became increasingly concerned about the problems facing families with twins and their need for mutual support. She founded the Parents of Twins Club in York and in 1978 became a co-founder of the Twins and Multiple Births Association. She was president of the association until 1984 and a trustee until 1991. In 1988 she founded the Multiple Births Foundation and was the director until 1998.
She established the first clinics specifically for twins – in London, Birmingham and York. There are also special clinics for families with higher order births, for those wanting to discuss educa ucation and for bereaved families.
She has written four books on twins: The Nature and Nurture of Twins (Bailliere Tindall 1983); Twins in the Family: a Parents Guide (Constable 1984); Twins, Triplets and More (Penguin 1992, MBF 1995); and Twins and Higher Multiple Births, a Guide to their nature and nurture (Edward Arnold 1992). She has also written one with her husband, Infertility: New Choices New Dilemmas (Penguin 1995). She is a joint author of a series of five Guidelines on Multiple Births for Professionals (MBF 1997 – 2001).
She has travelled and lectured widely through Europe, North and South America, Africa and the Far East and has worked for periods in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Korea.
She is President of the International Society for Twin Studies, the medical consultant to the Multiple Births Foundation, Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, Associate Editor of Twin Research, and previously Reader in Paediatrics at Imperial School of Medicine, London, and Assistant Editor of Early Human Development.
She is especially interested in the role and potential of self-help organizations in family care. She was the first chairperson of Herefordshire Home Start and recently chairperson of the national Home Start Consultancy Management Committee and is now a trustee. She also works with a number of support groups concerned with bereavement. She was a trustee of the British Infertility Counselling Association, an inspector for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and a member of the committee for the national Study of Triplets and Higher Order Births. She is on the advisory board of a number of international organisations for multiple birth families.
Her home is in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, where she lives with her husband, Ronald Higgins, a writer, on five acres of orchard and vegetable garden.
Lynda P. Haddon - National Making A Difference Award
Most difficult situation: Over the past 19 years, we have been very fortunate, as the girls have been healthy and happy, and get along very well together. Two incidents, however, stand out as particularly memorable.
The first was when one twin toilet-trained very easily, in a couple of days, while the other took about three months. We knew she was capable of learning, but was just being lazy (they hit the three-year-old mark during this time). My husband raised his voice and said, “Enough is enough; you are a big girl and you can do this!” And she did.
The second was when they both went to take their driving tests. Both were eager, of course, and I cringed at the thought of one passing and one failing. But I am a believer in not getting upset until I have to, and it turned out that they both passed. I couldn’t think how to handle the disappointment of one and the happiness of the other, so I’d pushed it out of my mind and decided to deal with it when (if) it occurred. Thankfully, I did not have to deal with this situation.
Funniest multiple anecdote: I couldn’t live without humour and I love to laugh. Our three children have all developed amazing senses of humour. Each is a little different from the others’ but all are quick, hilarious and witty. Here is a sample: For some time one of our twin daughters had been announcing she was psychic. Everyone just listened and there were no comments. As time went by, she became more insistent that she was psychic. Her twin sister finally got fed up and declared, “Holly, you are not psychic!” Holly was equally insistent that she was. Finally, Emily lost her patience and yelled, “You are not psychic! You don’t have big, fluffy, blonde hair, you don’t have a 1-800 number, and it doesn’t cost us $7.95 a minute to talk to you!” End of story.
What I would like to see for multiples in general: I would love to see support, including that of healthcare providers and other related professionals, for multiples and their families all across Canada. We live in a world that caters to families who have one child at a time. While parenting in any form is an on-going challenge, there are enormous additional concerns for families having twins, triplets or more.
We need these parents to succeed, and one way to ensure their success is to provide appropriate support systems, literature and informed professional access. These families need peer support and a venue to speak to other parents who have already been down the multiples path. The unique needs, challenges and requirements of multiples and their families must be acknowledged, and these families must be supported to the best of everyone’s ability.
Karen Nicklen - Local Making A Difference Award
I am so surprised and excited that I was nominated and won the award for Making a Difference. I had no idea that my friend Richelle had nominated me. Thank you, Richelle, Multiple Births Canada and all the executive members of our club I have worked with. I’m very proud and embarrassed. I help out in PGPOTTA (Prince George Parents of Twins and Triplets Association) because I enjoy it. PGPOTTA has helped me a lot. Our members are wonderful. I have never known so many generous, nice, helpful and fun-to-be-with people. I am embarrassed because I have been a member for only three years and I know (and know of) so many others who have contributed so much to PGPOTTA.
My husband, Harley, and I have two special three-year-old girls, Alicia and Rachael. It took seven years, many procedures and four in vitro attempts to create our little miracles. I work full-time as a bookkeeper. I joined the PGPOTTA when I was pregnant. The girls were five months old when I attended my first general meeting and Cheryl convinced me to be secretary. Later I helped with phoning. The next year I did phoning and was again the secretary. I enjoyed phoning very much. Phoning is the best way to know everyone. I talk a lot so it took me a long time to phone everyone!
In September 2000 I became president of PGPOTTA and also covered other executive positions. This year I volunteered to be president again. I enjoy this very much. I am very proud of the executive members we have. They are each skilled in many diverse ways and together they help make PGPOTTA a very good association. Associations/clubs are very lucky to be members of Multiple Births Canada. I have found MBC’s homepage and communications to be very informative. Multiple Births Canada’s information packages are very complete and assist us in helping our members.
I have felt very inadequate at times as a parent. I had no idea what being a mother was going to entail. Even with all the information in the world I would never have been able to prepare myself for motherhood, never mind multiples! Thanks to friends, PGPOTTA, family, and Multiple Births Canada I have received as much help as anyone is going to get, and it’s been rewarding. I’m having such a good time (most times!) being a parent.
What I would like to see in addition for PGPOTTA, multiple births clubs and for all parents of multiples:
More volunteers to be executives and casual volunteers. It takes a lot of time and it’s hard to find volunteers. I understand, as a parent, you can only stretch yourself so far. I have my girls involved in outside activities, and between working out of the home, volunteering, and taking them to their activities, life is very busy.
All parents of multiples becoming members of MBC clubs. We have very few members with older multiples. It seems that when children get older, their parents don’t need us any more but we still need them. It’s helpful to see what others are going through to give you ideas when you get to that stage (e.g., toilet training, preschool, elementary school, high school, the teenage years).
Help for new moms. I would like our association to have the money to hire (or get volunteers) experienced people to help new moms out as much as they need, and however they need it. (e.g., cleaning, cooking, feeding, dispensing advice).
PGPOTTA offers a discount card to our members. I’d like to see more local businesses give us a discount.
Our morning coffee get-togethers are a hit. I would like to see more events planned in the evenings so the families who can’t go to the morning get-togethers can get the benefit of being with other families of multiples.
I’m looking forward to having a home page with Multiple Births Canada. That will enable new members to see old (but still informative) newsletters. It would be great if every club had home pages through Multiple Births Canada (or linked to MBC) so we could share information. I enjoy reading other chapters’ newsletters.
It would be great if Multiple Births Canada was able to provide funding for one representative from each member club to attend the MBC Annual General Meeting.
Some of our healthcare professionals need more education concerning twin pregnancies. More support from EI and social services (e.g., money, longer maternity leaves and higher daycare subsidies for families with multiples).
Finally, I’d like British Columbia to host a Multiple Births Canada AGM and conference.
Wow, I want a lot! It’s funny; when I was asked to give a “bio” I thought, “Oh no! What am I going to write?” But, just like when I am talking, I tend to have a lot to say! Thanks, everyone!
|
Volunteer Opportunities
