Thalidomide Mom Loved Playing Bingo

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This story really touched me, it reached out to me from across the years and I really felt that I had to include it in my blog, even though it is not a recent event. Janette Cook loved playing bingo; she was one of the last of the thalidomide children born in the UK and one of the most severely affected.

Thalidomide was a drug that was given to mothers in the 1950’s for morning sickness and it was so toxic that it cased a spate of babies born with serious birth defects. I remember reading about it in my youth and being horrified that so many mothers and children had suffered from the cruel effects of this drug.

Anyway back to Jeanette, she was the first Thalidomide child to give birth to her own normal baby, and became a medical phenomenon, she only had one child, a daughter; “Kelli-Anne”. When Jeanette was born they told her mother that she wouldn’t live longer than a few months, but she did and she enjoyed playing bingo, loved the Chippendales, dancing and shopping, and was an active campaigner for all thalidomide victims in the UK. She never let her disabilities hold her back, and met her husband, Bob, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, on a respite visit to the hospital to cheer him up.

Sadly Jeanette died a few years ago after an operation, and her husband and daughter are still battling to get over the loss of their dynamic wife and mother. It just touched me so much when I read this that I had to share it with you. I am only sad that dear Jeanette never got a chance to enjoy online bingo, I am sure she would have enjoyed it, although she probably would have resented not being able to dab her own cards, she was that independent.

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