Wonderfully Made: Victoria’s Faith Journey

Instead, her story is one of perseverance, faith, and purpose. Speaking with Sally Coles‑Robertson, Chair of the Chester Diocese Disability Forum, she reflects on a lifetime shaped by resilience and the quiet conviction that God has walked with her from the beginning.

“I am profoundly deaf, severely sight‑impaired, with multiple disabilities,” Victoria says. “My guide dog Riley, partnered with me in September 2025, succeeded Heidi, who retired in December 2024 after ten years.”

Victoria was born at Leighton Hospital in Crewe and raised in a Christian home shaped by two traditions - her mother’s Anglican roots and her father’s Roman Catholic heritage from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Her mother realised early that Victoria was profoundly deaf and the family nurtured her faith from childhood. “Challenges never define me - I trust God’s purpose,” she says.

Around the age of six, faith became deeply personal to her - “a quiet knowing God held me.” While receiving treatment at Manchester Royal Infirmary, nuns and nurses would take her to St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church on Sundays. Her mother would place baby Victoria in a Moses basket during choir practices, where she slept peacefully through the hymns. Even then, she carried her Bible everywhere, despite those who doubted her ability to understand it.

Her First Holy Communion was a formative moment - filled with joy and marked by a rare weekend’s leave from the hospital. Before operations, she prayed, always sensing God beside her.

School and college were difficult. Victoria experienced bullying, and after her time at St Helens College, she had a breakdown. Yet she found renewal at Doncaster College for the Deaf, where she earned a City & Guilds qualification in Soft Furnishings in June 1998.

A turning point came when women from St Mary’s Wistaston invited her to monthly deaf services. Their welcome rekindled her faith and gave her a sense of belonging.

Her studies continued despite recurring health challenges, achieving BTEC National Diploma in Design (2001), NOCN Levels 1–3 in Floral Art at Reaseheath College, City & Guilds Level 3 Floristry and ABC Level 2 Counselling Concepts (2013), completed during a period of illness.

Autumn, she says, draws her closest to God - particularly Harvest Festivals, where she gives thanks for farmers and the sacred rhythm of the land. She has not yet taken part in Rogation Sunday but hopes to someday.

Victoria speaks candidly about mental‑health struggles that culminated during a hospital stay. In a moment of deep despair, she told a friend she wanted to give up. Her friend cried and left her alone to reflect. Then, she recalls, something changed.

“Warmth flooded in—the Holy Spirit whispered, You’ve come this far. Don’t give up. I held on.”

On 18 April 2018, Victoria took part in a BBC Songs of Praise recording at St Elisabeth’s, Reddish - a day she remembers with joy, singing praises with “a full heart.” That same year, she attended a Disability Forum meeting at Church House in Daresbury to see the work being done there.

Now living in Middlewich, she takes part in Bible study and attends church each Sunday with Riley, her red‑and‑yellow‑jacketed guide dog. Walking him to services she often hums “Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord,” as a wordless prayer that she finds grounding.

Victoria wants to see disability audits carried out in every church so that nobody feels excluded.

“A disability audit is vital to ensure everyone can take part fully in worship without unnecessary barriers.” She advocates for clear and readable text, avoiding flashing visuals, good lighting, and ensuring speakers remain visible for lip‑readers. Regular audits, she says, create churches where “no one has to struggle to feel included.”

For Victoria, her identity has always been rooted in faith rather than limitation.“My deafness, sight loss, guide dogs - all God’s design. I’m no mistake, but purpose‑filled.”

She holds fast to Psalm 139:14

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.”

Victoria was sharing her story with Sally Coles-Robertson, from the Chester Diocese Disability Forum.