RACHEL Dickinson-Sargieson has dedicated her life to helping others, from her five children to people who seek out her volunteering work.
The 39-year-old has been nominated for a Proud of Barnsley award thanks to her high spirited determination and her commitment to helping others, after spending 20 years without a minute for herself.
Rachel’s five children Jodie, 20, Bethany, 18, Niamh, 15, Emmy, 14 and Emil, six, all have had medical problems down the years, ranging from epilepsy to lung disease, which means that she has dedicated her time to countless hospital appointments across Barnsley, Sheffield and Leeds.
She has raised her four girls primarily by herself, before meeting her husband Peter seven years ago and going on to have their son, Emil, who suffers from a genetic lung disease and also has to be tube fed.
Although Rachel is a qualified health scientist, she has never had time to follow through with her career as her life has been committed to other matters.
Her second oldest daughter, Bethany, who was born 26 weeks prematurely with bleeding on the brain and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, became a medal-winning gymnast thanks to her mother’s determination to help her overcome the doctors’ prediction that Bethany would likely never walk properly.
Rachel said: “It took Bethany until she was three-years-old just to be able to stand and move, but this was only possible with the use of a walking frame, splints and special boots.
“I passionately believed that getting her involved in things like dance would be best for her in the long run.
“I made her do the lot from ballet to tap and jazz, any class there was I made her do it and it was very hard to force her to force her stiff little body.”
By the time Bethany was 11, she switched to gymnastics and continued to make astonishing progress - she is currently competing in the British trampolining finals representing Yorkshire and the Humber.
Rachel said: “I want other parents of other premature babies and babies with conditions like cerebral palsy to know there is hope and you can prove the experts wrong.”
The devoted mother, of Redhill Avenue, Kendray, also regularly volunteers by offering support to families in similar situations to her own.
This involves speaking to families who have children under five with heart defects and feeding issues - Rachel provides support to these families face to face or over the phone.
She also volunteers with Bliss, a charity to help premature and sick babies, and was approached by the charity to help families dealing with the trauma of having a premature baby.
Rachel was nominated by her brother, Dean Johnson, who said: “She is a truly selfless woman, and sister, she has overcome so many obstacles in her life, but one thing has always remained constant and that is her dedication to charity work, especially children’s charities.
“I truly hope that she receives a Proud of Barnsley award. I would be delighted as her brother, and over the moon seeing her achievements recognised in such a way.”
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
