We had a really tough few years, starting early 2012 and most of the challenges found a resolution by early 2014. Big challenges don’t always seem to come just by themselves. There always seems to be more, just when you’re down and don’t think you can take anymore-there it is something else to knock the wind out of you, break your heart a little more and test your sanity like it’s never been tested before.

We needed to get Lauren into a school. I needed to get some respite help. We needed to fix our house. A family mmber had a huge health scare, and surgery. My name was dragged through the mud by a stranger, and on top of all these things, I live with my daughter having Cystic Fibrosis and on top of that, special needs in all capacities. Life is full on.

I don’t even know where to begin. I’m stressed. It’s painful trying to just get on and do what’s best for Lauren and not let things upset you, because if they upset me, that reflects in my behaviour and I don’t want to let Lauren grow up with that. When no one will help you though, not how you need, and you call the social services complex children’s health needs team only for them to tell you they won’t help you, because you just need a babysitter, it’s hard. Having social workers lie about doing a proper carer’s assessment because parent carer’s are last on the list to give help to, it all just seemed a bit surreal. A HUGE eye opener that literally everything is about money. Everything. So I had to get my fight on. Send complaints and kick up a huge stink. 6 months later I got 6 hours a week respite. It’s something.

Our house was going to cost £25K to fix. It took 2 years from start, to going through so many different legal avenues to sue the dodgy surveyors, until they finally caved and paid for the work to be done. We then had to live through having all this work done. Pack up the house, move out for a month. Then start to put the house back together. Holy crap we’re still trying. Hoping to have it finished soon!

The school situation, I don’t even know what to say. It was a political fight and non other. Our situation was used and abused by the school so agenda’s could be met. But we got our fight on and got Lauren into the school we knew she should be in. She is there and my goodness isn’t she spreading love to everyone she meets!!! I love her. So very much!

We had a family scare. Someone was ill. Needed surgery. It could have been and was being treated as if it were cancer. By the grace of God alone, it was not. This kind of scare hurts. The possibilities of it were like a nightmare come true. It’s something that always sits at the back of your mind and weighs you down. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But they survived and are OK and were cancer free. Now I could cry at the sheer fear I had tried to keep deep down. Because that was petrifying!

On top of everything going on, someone decided to spread some real evil things about me. Others decided to spread the idle gossip, some of those people pretended to be friends. Luckily for me I have some awesome friends who squished the rumours, corrected those people and I had the opportunity to learn forgiveness. But this came at the worst time possible and could definitely have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. How on earth can anyone be expected to deal with all of this??

I live everyday trying to deal with Cystic Fibrosis in a child that can’t help manage it herself, because she also has special needs. It’s a monumental task. I think about things you can’t imagine.

But some of these challenges are now over, been and gone, onwards and upwards. Some of the challenges are here for the duration and I have to renew everyday to deal with it as best as I possibly can.

Give me strength!!!! ;-D