31/12/2025
I haven’t really shared with you all just how testing this year has been… 2025 has pushed me in ways I never imagined.
There were some truly beautiful moments — partnering with and doing so well on there, taking Holly and Fintan on their first holiday, Felicity’s First Holy Communion, celebrating Ernie’s Confirmation, passing my driving test, surprising my mom with a party for her 60th, and raising £423 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital with our Halloween display 🤍 Moments I’m so proud of and so grateful for.
But behind the smiles, it’s been one of the hardest years of my life.
My auntie being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer… my cousin falling 10ft off a ladder and suffering a bleed on the brain… my mom ending up in hospital with inflammation and infection in her gallbladder — and now she’s scheduled to have her gallbladder removed in the next few weeks… and then almost losing the children’s dad.
Pneumonia, borderline sepsis, endocarditis, an infected pulmonary valve and emergency life-saving open heart surgery — 8 hours in theatre. The hospital said it had likely been there since January and that it was a miracle he was still alive. We took the kids to see him in hospital so they could have a cuddle — not realising it could have been their last — and that moment completely broke me. He then spent 4 weeks in hospital, followed by a PICC line at home for another 3 weeks of strong antibiotics.
This year has been a true test of strength, courage and resilience — the kind you don’t realise you have until life forces you to find it. It broke me, scared me, rebuilt me, and reminded me what truly matters: family, health, love, and the ability to keep going even when it feels impossible.
I’m ending 2025 with a different outlook, and a heart full of gratitude for the people still here with us — and with a resilience I never knew I had.
Good riddance 2025. Please, 2026 — be softer, kinder, and full of healing ✨
