‘I just want to say – this was the best Zoom call ever!’

I stared back at my phone. ‘Really?’

Compared to the other three people on the call, I looked the most like Robinsoe Crusoe. Who probably didn’t use enough moisturiser.

Cue my mother ❤️. ‘I told you to use moisturiser! Do you want to go all wrinkled from the sun?’ This advice coming from the generation who used to put actual coconut oil on their skin for a deeper tan. Meanwhile, I occasionally forget the factor 50+. But compared to the nice Welsh people back at home, it did feel a little extreme. They had turtle necks on. I had hair blowing everywhere.

It was still nice. Really wonderful in fact. The Zoom call was Delphine’s annual meeting with our county council’s educational board. I’ve known some of them for a long time now. They’ve looked out for Delph since she was a toddler. The truth is; they might have enjoyed watching our unusual surroundings on a sailboat, tied up to Bonaire instead of Borth – but I was the one who got emotional. Wild-haired, possibly under-moisturised and wet-eyed. Urghh.

Delphine’s journey is sometimes hard for me to articulate. It’s as though my fingers freeze up, which is not exactly usual – for these big-mouthed fingers! I do know we probably wouldn’t be here on Quest if it wasn’t for Delphine. I don’t know how I know it. I just reckon we’d probably still be living the life we were living when she was born. Which wasn’t a bad life either. It was a good life. She just – and by no fault of her own – changed it.

We were told that she may not walk, or talk, or even see. She did all those things anyway, From there, all our plans – what we were hoping to do some day when the girls grew up, became things we had to do now. I can’t explain this part properly either. But we felt it so keenly, it wasn’t even like it was an option. We just had to do it.

So speaking to professionals on Zoom; mapping out the methods Delphine will be able to use next year to attain the things she’d like to achieve, makes me very grateful. I also don’t know why I’m so surprised. The support she’s had from our county, Ceredigion, in Wales, has always been amazing. Considering I’m not from the place, I’ve always felt slight imposter syndrome. As a family, we may have filled Delph’s life so far with some exciting experiences. Hearing she has people cheering her on from home though? The wet eyes arrive again.

Delphine’s team said they would start planning her re-introduction to mainstream school in September. We all pretended in the meeting that we knew schools would be back to normal by then. Hubris perhaps? Apparently, they’re considering keeping the newly-introduced, one-way system in the school hallways. Fingers crossed.