My mum was 35-years-old when she died and I was nine turning 10. She’d been sick for a little while but I didn’t know what the problem was. She’d gone into hospital for a procedure and on the day she was supposed to have the operation, she passed away early in the morning in her sleep. It was the 21st of March, 1994. I grew up as an only child, but I spent a lot of time with my cousin, my uncle’s daughter. She was a year younger than me but we were like sisters. My mum was a fun loving mother. She used to take us to lots of places, the school holidays were always fun. She taught me and my cousin to cook at a really young age, even if it was just eggs and bacon. She loved to dance, and she laughed a lot. She was a strong and courageous woman, who loved life and loved us. Even though I was only nine when she passed away, I had an awesome childhood …