I am delighted to say I am a grandmother three times over now. Lucy and Darren had their second child, a boy, only five days before Adrian and Kirsty had their first child, a girl. All are well. I seem to be as busy as ever, but happily so: spending time with my...

I am still in touch with Lara, Frazer and Arthur. The supervision order expired at the end of a year and Claudette was satisfied that no further interventions were needed. The family continues to thrive and Lara plans to look at college courses once Arthur is settled...

I am still in touch with Selina and family, but not Ashleigh. We meet up in the park during school holidays. Selina sees Ashleigh once a month but away from the family home. Angie and Polly have seen Ashleigh twice in the last year. Ashleigh is now living in a...

Jamey continues to make good progress. He is gaining weight and now attending nursery and speech therapy.  Kat has supervised contact with Jamey at the Family Centre four times a year.  I don’t know if she has managed to get off drugs. Jamey has been assessed as...

I didn’t ever find out how Haylea’s father discovered she was living with me but it seems likely someone he knew saw us and followed us home. Haylea is happily settled with Kellie and Amelia. She has started a foundation course at their local college where she has...

We had a three month break from fostering after my mother died. As well as grieving for our loss there was a lot to do - arranging her funeral then clearing out and selling her house. It was March before we saw Jackson again and he was doing well. Kayla told me there...

Tilly’s step-father was given a three year prison sentence which had been reduced because he’d pleaded guilty. This didn’t sound much to me but then his career and reputation were in ruins. He was also placed on the sex offenders register. Tilly began talking to her...

Oskar quickly settled into his new life and, as I thought might happen, his calls to us became less frequent. He phones about every couple of months now when I also speak to Dol. He’s doing well at home and school. At the final court hearing Roksana had told the judge...

Filip and Aneta didn’t keep in touch but Edith, my supervising social worker, told me – about six months after they’d gone - that the children were doing well and liked their nursery. Two years after they’d left I was browsing on line for a card to go with a gift for...

The next time I saw Stevie was three months later in the school summer holidays but not to talk to. He was with two young people his age and I was in the car.  As I drove past him I sounded the horn and waved. He saw me and waved back. In September he was in the...

I had assumed that it would be too close to the funeral for us to visit Melody the Christmas after she left, but Dana phoned and invited us. On Saturday 23rd December my children and I (including the child I was fostering) got into the car to make the 200 mile return...

I might not have heard from Anna again had it not been for social media. The years passed then I received a Facebook friendship request from Anna Hudson. Needless to say I accepted, so too did Paula, Lucy and Adrian. Through chatting to Anna online I learnt that she...

As promised Max kept in touch and visited us when he was home from university. Not every holiday but a couple of times a year. He completed his B.A and was awarded a first class honours degree and is now studying for his doctorate. He’s also kept the weight off. But...

Alex continued to make good progress both at school and in his personal life. He and Lexi dated for over a year, she helped him a lot, and then as often happens with teenager romance they drifted apart and agreed to go their separate ways. Taylor and Krissy had a baby...

I hadn’t expected to see Edward again after my visit to Patsy just before Christmas, but the following year there was a big fostering and adoption party. Edward, eleven months old was there with his parents. They are truly a lovely couple and are committed to keeping...

With regular respite Samson was able to stay at home with his Gran. But her health deteriorated and by the time he was sixteen he had become her main carer. Sadly she passed away when he was eighteen. He had some contact with his father but as far as I’m aware has...

I haven’t heard from Dawn since the book was published, but I still hope that one day I might. It would be wonderful to answer the door and see her standing there, in which case I will certainly add an update here. I’ve received many lovely emails from well-wishers...

We continued to see Beth and her parents in the playground for three years, until Beth went up to secondary school. As I thought, Marianne made a fantastic mother, and Derek understood his role as her father. Beth went to university and graduated with a BSc in...

Michael has a good job in retail management. He lives with his wife and their two small children not far from Colleen and Eamon. We still see them all a couple of times a year. Eamon and Colleen adopted Michael eighteen months after he moved in. They are in their late...

A year after I received the last letter from Rihanna saying they were moving, I was in the car driving through a neighbouring town when I saw Rihanna and Harrison with a man. It was a Sunday and Adrian and Paula were out for the day with their father and I'd arranged...

Donna qualified as a nurse and married another nurse, a lovely young man, very caring and considerate. They have two children and we see them all at least once a year, usually around Christmas time.  She is still in touch with Emily and Kerry but also has new friends...

Courtney, Jade and Tyler are all well and happy. They still live in the same flat which they are buying with the aid of a mortgage. We see each other at least once a year, usually just before Christmas when I take presents and also a ‘goody bag’ containing a Yule log...

Adrian, Lucy and Paula are all young adults now. Adrian went away to study at university and then returned home. Lucy and Paula went to local colleges and university. Lucy still sees Bonnie occasionally. When Bonnie is in the area she telephones Lucy and they meet,...

Nearly four years after Alice had left us I passed her with her mother and step-father in the High Street. It was Leah I recognised first and then Alice who was walking between her parents and quite the young lady. Leah was pushing a two year old in a stroller – the...

I see Danny and his parents by chance every so often in the area and we always stop for a chat. Danny is 23 now and still has his mop of light blond hair. Although he is shorter than his parents he has filled out so he isn't as thin as he was as a child. He went to a...

When Joss and Kevin moved to live closer to their grandparents they began attending a local school and we gradually lost contact. Some families of children I've fostered stay in touch but many do not, preferring to put a difficult past behind them and look to the...

Many readers have contacted me since the publication of Damaged, sending their best wishes and asking how Jodie is; my heartfelt thanks to you all. Jodie made excellent progress at High Oaks as a result of the care and therapy she received there. She lost most of her...

Tayo continued to do well at school and was very much into sport. But as I thought might happen his phone calls gradually tailed off as he became more involved in his new life.  However, when he was sixteen I received a Facebook friendship request from him and also...

To begin with Reece found the transition to secondary school difficult: the large building, new routine and so many students. But with support from the school (who were excellent) and also from John and May he soon regained his confidence and settled in. He is now at...

Aimee is at college studying childcare and is adamant she wants to be a foster carer when she’s older and help children like her. If she does I am sure she will be great. She is young adult now but still lives with Jason, Jenny, Emily, and Simon (the baby Jenny was...

Zeena works in a law firm that specializes in cases involving women’s rights including cases of forced marriage. We are still in contact with her – by text and social networking websites, and occasionally we bump into each other in the town. She knows she’s welcome to...