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Foster mother 'saint' urges more families to volunteer
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent29 Oct 2009
A foster mother dubbed "a saint" after helping to raise 140 children today urged other parents to come forward and volunteer.
Avril Head, 57, and husband Ron, 60, a retired firefighter, have three children of their own but have dedicated much of their lives to caring for those born with special medical needs.
They include adopted son Dominic, 10, who was switching on the Christmas lights at Harrods at 5pm today with X Factor judge Dannii Minogue to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital, whose surgeons transformed his life by operating on his eyelids.
Dominic, who the Heads adopted when he was three, was born with eyelid muscles which were so weak he could not open his eyes. This meant he had to tilt his head backwards to see but even then his vision was blurred.
His condition is believed to have been caused by his natural mother drinking too much during pregnancy.
When he was four, surgeons used a strip of tendon from his thigh to attach his lids to his forehead muscle, enabling him to open his eyes.
Mrs Head, from Croydon, said: "I'm very proud of Dominic and of his progress. People always say I'm a saint but there is so much joy in seeing children flourish if you give them love. My mother was adopted and I can love any child in my care as equally as my own." She called on other responsible parents to come forward as foster families, saying: "We've looked after children with disabilities for the last 10 years. You can make such a massive difference and they can really flourish."
She added: "When I first fostered him, Dominic was a fragile child and doctors were convinced he was going to die.
"Thanks to the surgery, Dominic thinks he has been given a new pair of eyes. He's a real gift to us."
The theme for the Harrods lights is the Emerald City, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.
Members of the public are being asked to donate £10 to turn each light-bulb emerald green. The store is helping raise £300,000 for the new kidney unit at the hospital.
