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Trinity People Testimony At the ‘Refresh’ meeting in November Angie gave a wonderful testimony of how God’s love supported and upheld her during a very difficult time in her life, and continues to do so. Maggie Bruce prompted her with questions. Her testimony is long, but it would be a shame to omit any of the important steps in her life, so it’s reproduced here in full. Maggie’s prompts are in italic print. I have been trying to remember when we first met and think it must have been in the 1990s. I was working very part time as a community paediatrician in Crawley, Horsham and EG area and heard via my professional network that a baby with Down's syndrome had been born into an East Grinstead family. I subsequently found out that a friend at Trinity called Linda was a neighbour of the mum and the mum's name was Angie! I think the birth of Megan was a pivotal moment in your life and the beginning of your God journey - could you tell us more? Yes. Megan’s birth in 1990 was very much a pivotal moment and the beginning of my road back to God. I had been part of a church as a child and I would say I had a simple childlike faith when I was younger. But as often happens, I reached my teenage years and refused to go any more. After that I very rarely went to a church and if I was asked I would say to people, ‘I’m a good person, why do I need to go to church?’ Lawrence and I married in 1975 and we had two girls who were aged 10 and 8 when Megan came along. In those days there were no blood tests to assess your risk factor of having a child with Down’s syndrome, only an amniocentesis test which could be carried out if you were aged 35 or over; I was 34. I had a very easy pregnancy but Megan showed signs of distress during the labour and had to be born by emergency caesarean. So a few hours after the birth I was still groggy from the anaesthetic and they told me they suspected Megan had Down’s syndrome. I was in total shock and cried almost nonstop; they very quickly moved me into a private room away from the other mums, which was helpful in some ways but also made me feel alone and isolated. I had very little experience of anybody with a learning disability and I was very afraid for the future.
Megan also seemed to be very sick. She couldn’t keep any milk down and wasn’t suckling. An x-ray showed she had problems with her duodenum which was blindended and not joined to her intestine. Because of this she was taken down to The Royal Alex children’s hospital in Brighton for an operation. She stayed there for four weeks until she was able to feed properly. It was a very difficult time for us as a family trying to get the older girls to school, Lawrence having to keep the business going and I was relying on people to drive me down to Brighton most days. But it did help me bond with Megan and for the time she was in hospital she was just a sick baby; the fact that she had Down’s syndrome was put to the side. After she came home the reality of it all came back and I worried constantly about the future. My neighbour Linda was a great support and she told me that ladies at this church were praying for me. Also another Christian neighbour came round and said they were also praying for us. I remember being so grateful that although they didn’t know me, they cared enough to pray for us. Over the next few weeks I began to feel the need to go to church, I was looking for answers. I didn’t want to go back to my old church and Linda suggested I come here to Trinity. So the girls and I went along the next week which was Pentecost Sunday. I thought the service was amazing - so alive and vibrant. After that I was invited to join a Christian basics group which was run by Maggie and Rachael. I was still concerned and worried about Megan’s future and I found it really hard to switch off everything in my head, especially when I was on my own, usually when I was driving. I very clearly remember one day I was driving up College Lane and as usual worrying in my head, when I had a sudden realisation ‘God is with me’. It broke through all the worry and was as if He had thrown me a life line. From that moment I knew I was not alone. I carried on with the Christians basics course, made a commitment and I and the girls became immersed in the church. I remember being in a cell group/home group with you and hearing that you were pregnant again. How difficult was it to make the decision to have another child after having Megan? Lawrence and I decided quite quickly to have another baby; because of the age difference with the older girls we didn’t want Megan to be on her own. I was concerned about having another baby with Down’s syndrome even though Megan has Triosomy 21 which is not hereditary. I do know two families who have had a second child with Down’s syndrome so yes, it could be a possibility.
Page 1 and 2: Happy Christmas December 2015 / Jan
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Page 5 and 6: Christmas Services and Events Satur
Page 7 and 8: Geoff is “Sitting Down”, Who Wi
Page 9 and 10: Roundabout Pre-School Christmas Cel
Page 11 and 12: Trinity New Build Team - a Final Re
Page 13 and 14: AV Presentations During Services As
Page 15 and 16: Trinity Welcome Café Saturday 02 J
Page 17 and 18: 'Joseph' - a reflection It has been
Page 19 and 20: ‘Rhythm of Mission’ Training fo
Page 21 and 22: Forest Row Lifeboat Choir Forest Ro
Page 23 and 24: Retreat Programme Spring 2016 At Da
Page 25: Trinity Groups Kaleidoscope Kaleido
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Page 33 and 34: On the Wildside December 2015 Weapo
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