When Love Lifts More Than It Should: Facing the Next Chapter With My Growing Son

My son is turning ten soon. Ten! Double digits. It feels like a milestone we’ve both been racing toward — and now that it’s here, I find myself caught between pride, joy, and a quiet, creeping fear.

Wilson has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. For nearly ten years, I’ve been his lift, his legs, his wheels, his everything. I’ve carried him up the stairs, lifted him from his bed, transferred him to his chair, and scooped him up whenever he needed me. It’s been second nature, something I’ve done without a thought. He’s my child - of course I’ll lift him!

But lately, something’s shifted. He’s growing stronger, taller, heavier. And I’m starting to realise that one day soon, I won’t be able to lift him like I used to. That reality hits harder than I ever expected.

I keep asking myself: What happens then?

People mention hoists, ceiling tracks, home adaptations - and yes, those things are amazing and life-changing for many families. But what if (like me) your home simply isn’t built for that? What if you live in a house with stairs, narrow hallways, and no realistic way to make the space “accessible”? And what if, quite honestly, a bungalow or major adaptations just aren’t financially possible?

It’s a question so many of us face but rarely talk about out loud: how do we keep caring safely for our growing children when our bodies are already stretched to their limits?

The truth is, I don’t have all the answers. What I do know is that we’re not alone. There are parents all over the world standing in their living rooms, quietly wondering the same thing. We’ll figure it out, because we always do. With creativity, resilience, and the fierce kind of love that only parent carers understand.

Maybe it’s time to start more honest conversations about this - about realistic housing support, accessible equipment, and what life really looks like as our children grow.

Because behind every child who depends on us is a parent doing their best, lifting with love, and hoping their strength - physical and emotional - will always be enough.