“As a single parent pretty much from the early months of pregnancy, I have endured and managed the past ten years pretty much on my own. I was told by a very dear friend of mine in the early days that I would become a ‘Warrior Mother’ as many of us do.

My son arrived into my life very suddenly and his unique needs have taken me on a very interesting and painful but now rewarding path. We have spent many of the formative years juggling between hospitals, child psychiatric clinics, healing centres, parenting courses and so forth. It was quite clear our path was to be very different to what I imagined and destiny had its own ideas.

On arrival to Dublin where we have now been living for the past seven years, I realised I was on my own big time and I needed to make contact with a service that could help me bear the weight of my exhausted situation. I had lost everything: my business, my friends, family and myself. I had never ever thought I would land in such an economically and emotionally deprived situation with another life under my wing.

I was aware I was carrying a lot of anger and pain and worry so I availed of a counselling service where I worked through the mountain that stood before me. I am still hanging on tight and one hell of a Warrior Mother, with a bright young son who has made it into mainstream school and has become the heartbeat of his rugby team.

I am so thankful to all who helped me face my worst fears and encouraged us both to become strong and capable and to become a family.”