ean. We instantly fell in love. So six months later, we 3-month-old half cal but hi dads. Life was perfect. Only, as our boys grew, both struggled to meet their milestones. They went for tests, then we were given a shock diagnosis. “James has a condition called foctal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD),” the specialist doctor told us. “It was caused by his birth mum drinking while he was in the womb. He explained the ‘symptoms included vision impairment, Sleep, speech, growth Both Alison's sons were suffering from unusual symptoms. and memory problems, hi jeart and liver defects, a poor immune system and behavioural issues. Sean has many of those too,’ I said. *Could he also suffer from it?” ‘Its highly likely,’ he replied. While Sean was able to go mainstream schooling, James was Put in a special-education unit for children with learning disabiliti As they got older, their FAS became more obvious. James was obsessed with routine. By age four, he'd into & have a meltdown at the slightest change. Every day had to be the same. WSs like Groundhog Day round here, | smiled one mori as I cut the crusts off James's toast nes one sli buttered whit cut into tria I would prepare cor ng te toast, les ‘Any alteration, and he would throw a Brian and Idoted | onthe kids fp huge tantrum, Bath time and bedtime were equally as planned out Sean, on the other hand, had terrible short-term memory. Td send him to fetch something. but by the time he'd got upstairs hed have forgotten what it was, Then one day I was given the chance to meet my boys" birth mum. | jumped at the opportunity. Maybe some people would have resented her, but | felt the complete opposite, Thank you,” I gushed. “You've given me the most precious g I knew shed drunk during her Pregnancy, but I wasn’t going to judge her. I had no idea what been going through. Despite the challenges, Brian and ! wouldn't change a thing about our boy: They mean the world to us