Rawtenstall mum's wish following baby's death (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Rawtenstall mum's wish following baby's death

12:30pm Thursday 15th December 2011 in Rawtenstall By Vanessa Cornall, Reporter

THE mother of a baby who died from a rare genetic disease is studying to become a bereavement counsellor so she can help other parents of terminally ill children.

Kristianne Robinson, 38, lost her baby boy Dexter when he was just one-month-old.

The tiny tot was born with Zellweger Syndrome, an inherited condition that damages parts of the brain and affects how the body metabolises substances in the blood and organ tissues.

Now, four years after his death, his mum Kristianne, is being sponsored by distance learning group BSY Devon to take a bereavement counselling course so she can help other parents who find themselves in the same situation.

Kristianne said: “We were told almost as soon as Dexter was born that he would not live long.

“In a way, we started grieving from that point but it seemed like we had no one to talk to. The doctor who treated him said she had only encountered the condition three times and so we struggled to find people who would talk about it.

“We want to make people aware that it is okay and healthy to talk about it.

“I hope to finish the course in the summer, so I can work alongside Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley where Dexter was treated, and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.”

The singer, of East Street, Rawtenstall, hopes with help from her husband Chris to register their fundraising appeal ‘Dexter’s Wish’ in memory of their first born as a charity.

Kristianne added: “To register as a charity you have to raise £5,000. Our total currently stands at £4,000 so we don’t need much more to qualify.

"Dexter’s Wish is not about raising money to send terminally children on a holiday of a lifetime, what we want to do is support families and buy them the smaller things that would make their lives easier.

“If anyone can help us reach our total they would find lot’s of information on our website.”

To find out more information visit www.dexterswish.co.uk