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Outlook: The story that saved my child's life

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Louise and Katy Beech

12/02/2019 GMT

The story that saved my child's life

BBC World Service - Outlook, The story that saved my child's life

Louise Beech's daughter was ill and losing hope. A bedtime story turned things around

When Louise Beech's daughter refused to take her injections for diabetes, Louise made a bargain with her- if she could tell her a good enough story, Katy would have her injections

In 2007, when Katy Beech was just seven she was diagnosed with diabetes which meant she needed regular injections of insulin to stay alive - but by the time she was ten, she'd had enough. So her mum, Louise, made a bargain with her - if she could tell her a good enough story, Katy would agree to have her injections. The story Louise chose was an amazing one - the true story of her grandfather's shipwreck in World War Two.

A musical that's just moved from Broadway to London about 9/11 has got people talking about a small town in Newfoundland that played an important role that day. When New York and Washington came under attack, American officials took the unprecedented step of closing US airspace. There were about 400 aircraft heading across the Atlantic from Europe at the time - all of them had to land as quickly as possible, and 38 jumbo jets chose the tiny town of Gander, on the east coast of Canada. Fewer than 10,000 people live there and within a matter of hours on 9/11 they were joined by 6,500 stranded passengers - all of whom needed food and shelter. In 2011 Jo Fidgen visited Gander to hear how the locals rose to the occasion in a magnificent way. 


(Image: Louise Beech with her daughter, Katy. Photo courtesy of Louise Beech.)

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