A father from Angmering has been using photography as a way to escape his anxieties, and is now using his photographs in a 2021 calendar to raise money for his son's care.
Jamie Fielding, who lives in Angmering with his wife Becky, son Charlie, Charlie's twin sister Poppy (5) and daughter Lola (8), has faced some of the most challenging circumstances a parent could imagine after his five-year-old-son suffered a spinal chord injury in 2016, at the age of 18 months.
Charlie lost the use of both of his legs, requiring specialist physiotherapy treatment not currently available through the NHS.
Just before his fourth birthday last year (2019) Charlie was also diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, he's now five-years-old and half way through his three year treatment.
Jamie said:
"He's on daily chemotherapy, which some of it we administer at home and some of it he has to go into hospital for.
"In terms of everything associated with his paraplegia, there's a lot of personal care which we have to do for him, a lot of lifting and things which we have to do for Charlie as he can't do those things for himself.
"So there's a lot of really hands on things which my wife Becky and I have to do for Charlie.
"The money raised from the calanders will go towards physiotherapy, new equipment and adjustment needs which we have for him."
As November is Men's Mental Health Awareness month, More Radio has been speaking to Jamie about how he deals with his struggles.
He explained:
"It's had a massive impact on my mental health, it's an incredibly stressful situation and has been now for the past four years.
"We have constant health worries for Charlie, particularly being in chemotherapy he's much more susceptible to infections.
"So, we just never know what's around the corner.
"And in particular, the last sort of eight months with the threat of coronavirus out there, it's something which has really heightened the anxiety around his health."
The father of three, who works for The Environment Agency, said photography is one thing that really helps him deal with stress.
He takes photographs of the Sussex landscape in his spare time and has had three of his images shortlisted for the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year, as well as the Sussex Wildlife Trust 'Into The Wild' Competition.
He added:
"I find photography provides a form of escapism, so for my own mental health it's nice to be able to step out of the stressful moments you can often find yourself in.
"A lot of my photography is around sunsets, sunrise, misty mornings.
"So, it's all about stuff that really gets you out connecting with nature, which is really relaxing and therapeutic I find."
Charlie's physiotherapy, provided privately by a clinic in Crawley called Neurokinex Gatwick, has a lot to do with improving his muscle tone in his legs to prevent them from seizing up.
This ensures his hip alignment remains in place and that he doesn't get curvature of the spine, which could cause a lot of other associated health issues as he grows up.
Jamie and Becky also need to make adjustments as he gets bigger to help with things like getting Charlie in and out of the car.
You can find out more about Charlie's journey and how to purchase a 2021 calendar here.
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