Friday Hive blog by Sam

During Spring and Summer 2020, I personally spoke to over 2,000 Duchenne families, offering each of them bespoke care and support to suit their individual needs. It was one of my greatest personal and professional achievements. I was so proud to give my heart and soul to so many people, helping them share their worries and concerns with me in a really safe place. 

Fast forward two years, and I’m super proud to be involved in bringing a new safe place to our amazing Duchenne community; the Friday Hive. It’s a chance for you to share your worries, concerns, thoughts, and feelings with people who really ‘get it’ – other Duchenne parents and carers. We know how busy life can be for you, balancing work, caring, family and appointments, so we’ve chosen Friday mornings during term time for these open drop-in sessions. They are open to all, with each session will be hosted by one of our Support Team, to encourage open conversation and peer-to-peer support.

There is no set agenda, we will go with the flow, discussing the topics that are important to you, so each session will be different. You are welcome to attend as many sessions as you like, at any time you are able to. You can stay for the whole session, or just drop in when you can. 

It is a wonderful uplifting feeling, as a Duchenne parent, when you are able to help support someone going through the same lived experience that you have (or are?). It’s also so helpful to share your feelings with people who completely understand. 

We hope to see many of you online, weekly between 10am and midday from Friday 25th February.

And of course, if you would like to have an informal support chat with me, please do get in touch samantha@actionduchenne.org. 

A bit about Sam

Samantha Turner joined Action Duchenne in May 2016. Her son, Jude (13) was diagnosed with Duchenne aged 4. Her proudest achievement is the work we did to support the Duchenne community over lock-down. Sam personally spoke to 2,000 families during the first 6 months of COVID-19 and was proud to provide them with support, guidance and an understanding outlet for their fears and worries (whilst simultaneously home-schooling her two children!). Recently, Sam’s eldest, Len (18) has gone to Brighton University to study Psychology with Criminology.