Follow in Fiona’s fostering footsteps and change lives

A local foster carer is helping to improve life for one special little boy. Could you?

Dundee foster carer Fiona Bruce’s dedication to her foster son has earned her a top award from the Fostering Network.

Dundee City Council hopes Courier readers will be inspired by her story to consider becoming foster parents themselves.

More than 64,000 children live with almost 55,000 foster families across the UK and the Fostering Network estimates a further 9,070 foster families are needed in the next 12 months.

Fiona – who received the Outstanding Contribution by a Foster Carer award – and husband David care for a boy with congenital myotonic dystrophy, a long term genetic disorder that affects muscle function.

As a result he has a tracheostomy and is ventilated overnight or during the day if he is unwell.

“Fostering has brought us a lot of joy,” says Fiona. “It can be very demanding but so rewarding and that’s what matters and makes it all worthwhile.”

The Bruces’ foster child also has developmental problems and other health needs which mean he sometimes needs to be hospitalised.

And yet, over the past six years, under Fiona’s care, he has come on in leaps and bounds and she has proved that nothing is too much when it comes to his best interests.

When Fiona first met him, as his nursery nurse six years ago, he had no speech or mobility.

Since then he has developed some sign language, is learning to communicate through an app on the iPad and has recently started taking steps with the aid of a standing frame.

If he needs to be hospitalised, Fiona stays with him from 9am until 9pm.

In addition, she and her family agreed to move to a specially adapted house to allow his needs to be met, and Fiona also fights his corner to make sure he receives every opportunity to develop to his maximum potential as well as always sourcing new experiences for him.

Fiona urges anyone who has thought about fostering to go for it.

“Make a phone call and get some more information. It has given us a new outlook and purpose and has changed our lives for the better.”

Visit www.changetheirlives.com or call 01382 436060.

Could you help change a child’s life for the better by considering fostering or adoption?

Fiona Bruce with her husband David.