The day my mammy Marie passed away she took a piece of me with her. I honestly never expected to lose mammy so soon and so suddenly. Every time she was sick, she recovered and bounced back, but bit by bit got tired of such a long fight. She only received her diagnosis in her 50s, but now we learned she might have had it from her 20s or early 30s; as I’m now walking her shoes in the early stages of this illness.
Mammy loved to be the center of attention and loved a fuss she loved to dress up so elegantly, her fur coats and velvet trousers were just one of her many favorites. She loved her family and was so proud of all our achievements throughout our years. She loved to boast about her 2 children and when she became a nanny to 3 grandchildren, they were her absolute world. She loved to take them on day trips, make memories, and loved to spend time with her husband Tommy. Going on a cruise with him was her favorite thing to do.
This horrible illness stole a massively important part of my life: my future with my mammy. I need her now more than ever on this journey nobody understands. The only 2 people who had some knowledge were taken away far too soon, my mammy and my little brother Dominic. I often sit and ask myself why we as a family have been cursed, but there are no answers. I need to change my thoughts and focus on being positive, but I need to be strong and know mammy and Dominic both walk this road with me every single day in a different way especially keeping me strong on my hardest days.
This story was supposed to be all about mammy, but being so rare and having a Telomere Biology Disorder is hard. My story links in with mammy as her journey with this illness in this life came to an end, my journey just began. So here’s to you mammy. You will be forever in my thoughts and I will be forever hearing those words you used to say to me: “Dress up, and show up”. As long as I live, I will keep your memory alive too. I hope you are resting among the clouds with the angels. You are loved so much forever young mam aged 58💕