Callum is 38, and lives in Melbourne with his partner Isabel, and their two children Ema and Luna. He is an uncle to Ned, who has cystic fibrosis and share his experience of being Ned’s uncle.
I was living overseas when my nephew Ned was born. I guess that was lucky in a way. It was a very traumatic time for my sister. By the time I arrived back to Australia all I saw was a happy, bouncy baby boy!
Ned struggled to pronounce the letter ‘c’ as he learned to talk. So instead of calling me ‘Cally’ like my brother’s kids, he called me ‘Howly’. The name has now stuck which is very cute. Ned was very talkative and active as a toddler. He made us all laugh – and still does.
I didn’t need any arm twisting to go see him. He was so fun and funny. My partner Isabel and I were around as often as we could to see him. Soon his little brother Lucas arrived as well. He was funny and cute too!
Ned’s CF never stopped us doing anything or made it more difficult. It was just fun for us all.
Early on in their lives, Isabel and I had no kids of our own so we often took Ned and Lucas on little adventures, minded them or bought them special treats. I’m sure that gave my sister a break at the time though we never consciously did it for that reason. We just wanted to spend time with them.
I always liked the idea of being an active uncle. I’m glad I did too because it’s harder to see them now he and his brother are bigger and I have two daughters.
We see Ned in hospital too when he is required to go there. We try to break up a boring but distressing time for him like that. We’ve taken the boys ten pin bowling and tree climbing over the last few years. Sometimes I get to ‘shoot hoops’ with them too. We had grand plans to go to the footy this year but the Victoria lockdown has put those on hold. Stuff like that is nice for the boys and let’s them know I still look out for them.
Raising three boys is a demanding challenge at the best of times. Ned’s CF means he is often in and out of hospital and needs lots of therapy and special attention for the bad days. There’s not much I can do on that front. So I just try to be positive and fun around him and be available to lend a hand when need be. We often help out with the other two boys, Lucas and Harvey. They still need attention and care when Ned’s in hospital. It’s hard for them too.
I chip in with the fundraising for CF when they pop up too.
Ned’s is a teenager now so that’s brings its own complications. He doesn’t talk as much as he used too and seems a bit more moody these days! Ha. I was exactly the same – with much less excuse!
But I can’t wait for our next adventure. I hope he feels the same!
This article was published in February 2021.
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