things!’
During her whirlwind visit Agnes spent a lot of time boosting Esther’s confidence when she worked with her physiotherapist. As little Esther wobbled and swayed without the support of her stick, Agnes had an idea.
‘Let’s do it with Dolly.’
Holding Esther’s little knitted doll, Agnes placed her feet on a flat surface.
‘Look how clever she is, she can lift her good leg, then when that’s nice and steady she can swing her poorly leg and she won’t fall over because her strong leg is keeping her upright.’
As Agnes demonstrated the exercise several times, Esther smiled.
‘Clever Dolly!’ she said as she picked her up and kissed her.
‘Now you show Dolly how to walk without wobbling,’ Agnes urged.
The physiotherapist winked at Agnes as she said, ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
When they were on their own Esther put Dolly through her paces.
‘But her polio leg is still thin and poorly,’ she said sadly.
Agnes hunkered down to be on the same level as Esther.
‘I promise you it will get better and stronger with the hospital medicine and the physiotherapy.’ She helped Esther to her feet. ‘Let’s all do the exercises together with Dolly.’
By the end of the session they were laughing at each other as Agnes hopped on one leg and Esther walked with some significant improvement.
‘You’re hopping, Mummy. Use both legs, no cheating,’ Esther giggled as she repeated the words her mother had said to her.
‘You’re doing better than me because you’ve got clever Dolly,’ Agnes replied.
Esther rubbed the woollen toy against her pale cheek.
‘Can Dolly stay and do physiotherapy with me?’ she said softly.
‘Of course, darling,’ Agnes replied with a catch in her voice. ‘You can both help each other to get better.’
All too soon Esther and Agnes were enjoying their last day together, they’d hired a boat and were rowing out to the island in the middle of Derwentwater where they planned to have a picnic, even though it was icy cold and there was snow in the air. Over fish paste sandwiches and a flask of hot tea they talked about the future.
‘Will Daddy come home soon,’ Esther asked.
‘He might do, sweetheart, God willing,’ Agnes replied. ‘We just have to keep hoping and praying he’s safe and well.’
‘Will God let you stay here with me, Mummy?’ Esther asked sadly.
Feeling like her heart would burst with grief, Agnes gathered her daughter into her arms and kissed her soft dark curls.
‘Not yet, darling, but soon, I promise. Mummy will see you more often now and you can come and visit her at the factory where she works; it’s not that far away.’
Seeing Esther’s dark eyes fill with tears of disappointment, Agnes tried to lighten her load with a joke.
‘And guess what?’ she said. ‘I have
four
best friends: Emily, Alice, Elsie and Lillian.’
Intrigued, Esther said, ‘Tell me about them.’
‘Well there’s Emily, she’s a great cook; she made those chocolate truffles for you,’ said Agnes with a smile. ‘Then there’s Alice, she’s the clever one, and she can speak French nearly as well as she can speak English. Elsie is the sweetest, kindest lady in the world, and Lillian is funny and
really
cheeky!’
Esther burst out laughing at her mother’s lively description of her friends.
‘Where do you all live, Mummy?’ she asked.
Agnes smiled as she replied, ‘A cowshed on the moors!’
Esther’s eyes opened wide with amazement.
‘A cowshed!’ she laughed. ‘With pooh?’
Agnes shook her head.
‘No! We had to kick the cows out so me and my friends could move in!’ she joked.
‘I want to meet your new friends, Mummy,’ Esther said eagerly.
Agnes kissed her daughter, then said, ‘And they can’t wait to meet you, sweetheart!’
Though Agnes had been staying with Mr and Mrs
Sugden, the old couple who housed Esther in between her hospital visits, she hadn’t had as much time with them as she would have liked. Before Agnes
During her whirlwind visit Agnes spent a lot of time boosting Esther’s confidence when she worked with her physiotherapist. As little Esther wobbled and swayed without the support of her stick, Agnes had an idea.
‘Let’s do it with Dolly.’
Holding Esther’s little knitted doll, Agnes placed her feet on a flat surface.
‘Look how clever she is, she can lift her good leg, then when that’s nice and steady she can swing her poorly leg and she won’t fall over because her strong leg is keeping her upright.’
As Agnes demonstrated the exercise several times, Esther smiled.
‘Clever Dolly!’ she said as she picked her up and kissed her.
‘Now you show Dolly how to walk without wobbling,’ Agnes urged.
The physiotherapist winked at Agnes as she said, ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
When they were on their own Esther put Dolly through her paces.
‘But her polio leg is still thin and poorly,’ she said sadly.
Agnes hunkered down to be on the same level as Esther.
‘I promise you it will get better and stronger with the hospital medicine and the physiotherapy.’ She helped Esther to her feet. ‘Let’s all do the exercises together with Dolly.’
By the end of the session they were laughing at each other as Agnes hopped on one leg and Esther walked with some significant improvement.
‘You’re hopping, Mummy. Use both legs, no cheating,’ Esther giggled as she repeated the words her mother had said to her.
‘You’re doing better than me because you’ve got clever Dolly,’ Agnes replied.
Esther rubbed the woollen toy against her pale cheek.
‘Can Dolly stay and do physiotherapy with me?’ she said softly.
‘Of course, darling,’ Agnes replied with a catch in her voice. ‘You can both help each other to get better.’
All too soon Esther and Agnes were enjoying their last day together, they’d hired a boat and were rowing out to the island in the middle of Derwentwater where they planned to have a picnic, even though it was icy cold and there was snow in the air. Over fish paste sandwiches and a flask of hot tea they talked about the future.
‘Will Daddy come home soon,’ Esther asked.
‘He might do, sweetheart, God willing,’ Agnes replied. ‘We just have to keep hoping and praying he’s safe and well.’
‘Will God let you stay here with me, Mummy?’ Esther asked sadly.
Feeling like her heart would burst with grief, Agnes gathered her daughter into her arms and kissed her soft dark curls.
‘Not yet, darling, but soon, I promise. Mummy will see you more often now and you can come and visit her at the factory where she works; it’s not that far away.’
Seeing Esther’s dark eyes fill with tears of disappointment, Agnes tried to lighten her load with a joke.
‘And guess what?’ she said. ‘I have
four
best friends: Emily, Alice, Elsie and Lillian.’
Intrigued, Esther said, ‘Tell me about them.’
‘Well there’s Emily, she’s a great cook; she made those chocolate truffles for you,’ said Agnes with a smile. ‘Then there’s Alice, she’s the clever one, and she can speak French nearly as well as she can speak English. Elsie is the sweetest, kindest lady in the world, and Lillian is funny and
really
cheeky!’
Esther burst out laughing at her mother’s lively description of her friends.
‘Where do you all live, Mummy?’ she asked.
Agnes smiled as she replied, ‘A cowshed on the moors!’
Esther’s eyes opened wide with amazement.
‘A cowshed!’ she laughed. ‘With pooh?’
Agnes shook her head.
‘No! We had to kick the cows out so me and my friends could move in!’ she joked.
‘I want to meet your new friends, Mummy,’ Esther said eagerly.
Agnes kissed her daughter, then said, ‘And they can’t wait to meet you, sweetheart!’
Though Agnes had been staying with Mr and Mrs
Sugden, the old couple who housed Esther in between her hospital visits, she hadn’t had as much time with them as she would have liked. Before Agnes
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