Hereford's Martha House - a magical place

2:47pm Friday 8th August 2008

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SHE lived in Hereford for seven years at a very special address called Martha House.

Her parents called it a “magical place”, which gave their very severely disabled daughter so much love and devotion that she confounded everyone by having the strength to live to the age of 25.

Her parents called it a “magical place”, which gave their very severely disabled daughter so much love and devotion that she confounded everyone by having the strength to live to the age of 25.

Liz Watkins

Paul and Lynda James, whose lives revolved round their “baby’’ Charlene, say they will always be grateful for finding such a place and are indebted to the people of Hereford for taking their daughter to their hearts.

Charlene faced death many times in her short life but aways rallied to face another day – until a few weeks ago when her little body, no bigger than a 10-year-old’s, decided it had endured enough and she passed peacefully away.

Throughout her life Charlene had not been able to talk or walk. She was blind and, more recently, could not swallow, being fed through a tube.

But her courage was legendary and St Paul’s Church at Tupsley was filled for her funeral. Her parents received more than 100 cards and dozens of phone calls expressing sympathy.

Lynda says Charlene had an aura about her. When people met her they saw grace and dignity and were encouraged to treasure and embrace their own lives.

Life had not been kind to their daughter from the very beginning.

She weighed a little over 3lb when she was born, was identified as having Down’s syndrome, had a hole in the heart and was not expected to live.

Charlene won the first round and went home at 11 weeks to be cared for by her parents with help from social services and local nurses.

On her first birthday she weighed just 12lbs and, in the next few months, managed to crawl a short distance and her parents thought she had learned to say ‘mu’ and ‘da’.

But at 21 months there was another cruel blow. Charlene became seriously ill, suffered a severe stroke causing devastating brain damage and was taken home to die.

Again she fought back but was left unable to walk, talk or see and had epilepsy leaving her to face many years of serious disability.

John and Lynda became even more devoted, with the support of their older son and daughter Michael and Elaina and later their daughter-in-law Jerusha.

For a time Charlene was taken to special schools but eventually went as a weekly boarder to a school run by the Royal National Institute for the Blind in Shropshire. At the age of 18, when she became an adult, her parents had to consider a different future. Where could she be cared for?

They heard about Hereford’s Martha House, visited and decided immediately it was a magical place.

They had to wait for a vacancy and Lynda then moved in with her daughter for three weeks to help her settle.

Since then they have enjoyed seven years of Charlene receiving the best possible one-to-one care. She loved massages, aromatherapy, going in the hydrotherapy pool, listening to her Lizzie tape and even learning to giggle.

Last August, Martha House gave her a big party in St Paul’s Hall in Tupsley to mark her 25 birthday and only recently she was taken to enjoy the sea air at Tenby for a few days.

Every weekend Lynda and Paul came to Hereford to push their daughter round garden centres, into M&S, along the banks of the Wye and in Queenswood Country park.

She became a familiar sight in the city in her brightly coloured buggy and was always wearing pink boots. “People are still asking me how she is,” said Lynda.

“We never saw Charlene’s disabilities. We saw her as Charlene, our daughter.”

At Martha House director of nursing Peter Leach said Charlene was a little star, much loved by all.

Her death came suddenly in the end. Her parents were not able to get there in time, leaving them bereft.

But even in their grief they say they cannot thank the people at Martha House enough, along with all the caring services and others who have helped them provide the best for Charlene throughout her short life They hope to place a memorial at Martha House to remind people of Charlene, a child given a raw deal in life but whose very existence has encouraged others more fortunate to re-evaluate and appreciate theirs.