Letter from the editor: This story has a happy ending

We’re here when you have something to celebrate and we’re here when things are at their darkest.

Over the years I’ve met thousands of people and been allowed to tell their stories.

When things are happy it’s easy to find the words, both to say to them and to write.

However, when someone has received devestating news and you turn up on their doorstep, it’s one of the hardest jobs in the world.

Parents who have received the news that their child has a life-threatening condition are often in a daze.

For those who have lost a child their pain is indescribable.

I’m not going to debate the rights and wrongs of approaching people at this time, only say that when I’ve met people afterwards, they nearly always say it was cathartic to talk to a stranger about their loved one’s fight or loss.

In recent days, the media has been filled with the heartbreaking stories of children.

There’s little Charlie Gard, the baby whose parents want to take him to American for pioneering treatment while the doctors in the UK say there is nothing that can be done for him.

And who can forget that cheeky smile of football-loving Bradley Lowery, who sadly lost his fight with cancer last week, aged only six years.

But it’s not all gloom. This week I met a Falkirk family whose story I told 16 years ago as one of their twin boys was donating vital bone marrow to the other.

Thankfully, both survived. It’s nice to have a happy ending.