As we are celebrating Mother’s Day soon (SUNDAY MARCH 19), I want to share with you some thoughts about my mum, Yvette, who is a great role model to me. 

Me wearing a Medic Alert bracelet explaining my complex allergies almost acts as a gift to my Mum.  

She has dealt with me having anaphylactic attacks which has led to me being admitted to intensive care units several times throughout my life. Now she has some peace of mind when I’m out and about travelling across the UK or overseas. Or even in my own community, given that I don’t live with her now!

My mum knows that wherever I am, the information on my bracelet will alert first responders about my medical needs if I suffer an anaphylactic reaction.  

In the past life was far scarier for her, because if I went out alone, or with friends who didn’t know me that well, she would worry that if I had an allergic reaction, would people know what to do?  

Or, would they even realise I was having an allergic reaction, or just assume it was something else.  Also if medical professionals came to help – could they give me treatment which would cause an allergic reaction? Now, she knows that my Medic Alert bracelet does that just – alerts others to my needs. It’s just another way to reduce the risk I face just living with allergies on a daily basis.

My Mum

Mum moved from Kenya to the UK when she was 14. She later married and had three children and I’m the oldest of those three. 

No one else in our family has had allergies, so when I was diagnosed, it meant that her whole life changed.  In fact, on many occasions, her life has been turned completely upside down by me and this condition. 

Numerous times she has had to fight with schools to ensure I was in a safer environment. 

When I was nine, I spent a long time in hospital, after being given four hours to live after an operation. Even though my brother and sister were still young, she stayed by my bedside, and even slept in a chair so that I was never alone.

Over the years, I have been told there were many things that I wouldn’t be able to do, due to my allergies, but my mum has always encouraged me to keep going, telling me that nothing is off limits.

She showed her own courage and incredible resilience, when in 2021 she suffered a brain aneurysm/stroke. The doctors told her it is a miracle how well she has recovered. And within a few months, she wanted to go back to work.

Throughout Covid19 and before her brain aneurysm, she worked as a carer, even after her stroke, because she wanted to give back, and wanted to continue to help her residents.

Having a mum like mine, who has supported us all through our lives, brought me up, coping with my severe allergies, has been the best role model someone could have. Someone who doesn’t give up.  

Yvette, my mum, is a SuperMum.  I’m so proud of her and all she has achieved in life, and how she has given me the inner strength and belief to do what I do in my life. 

Oh and she too wears a Medic Alert bracelet too! Giving me some peace of mind about her!