Approved

The husband and I have been approved to foster. We have thought for a while about having children, but realised we didn't really want children of our own. This is partly because we don't have that desire, and partly because we don't know what pregnancy and those early months with a new born would do to my body/health. So we looked into other options and decided to apply to foster. The application process isn't easy, requires a lot of looking at your life in the past and doing a lot of reflecting on what happened, why, and how it made/makes you feel. We felt it to be intrusive and hard going, but we know that the nature of the role of a foster carer means that they need to pry into all parts of your life to ensure you are suitable to foster. Our panel date was last Thursday, we had to go along to the panel, who having considered the (long) assessment our social worker had completed, asked our social worker a few questions, and then called us in to ask a few questions. We had been told they wouldn't be hard questions, just clarifying anything they needed to, and thankfully that was how it was. In terms of my health and fostering, I am doing really well at the mo, probably operating at about 80% of my old norm, but accepting that that may well be my new norm. We have been open and honest about my health all through the assessment, which includes a medical at which I was declared fit to foster. We are excited, although a little apprehensive, about this new journey that we are starting on.