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I
was born on 11th April 1979 at the UCH Hospital in London. My mother (Greek
Cypriot) and my father who's parents were Irsh separated whilst I was
still a baby. I was brought up in Camden Town until the age of three by
my father who juggled a life of work and college to look after me whilst
living with my grandparents in a 3 bedroom flat in Camden. I moved back
with my mum at the age of 3 where I lived until the age of 13. Moved to
Bath when I was 13 then back to Hampstead in 1997. I now live in Barnet
and spent nine months over in Thailand in 2005 which was supposed to be
a permanent move but ended up being cut short due to my diagnosis.
Both
my father and mother (John & Angela) moved on in their relationships.
John met Zoe and Angela met Ricky and have since married and had children
of their own.
I
went to Rhyl Street Primary School and Camden School for Girls for the
first year.
My
upbringing was what any normal child from a separated mother and father
would have experienced. Nothing out of the ordinary in fact probably better
than most.
Bobby
Lee lived in Queens Crescent, Chalk Farm which was just around the corner
from where I lived with my mum, I often bumped into him. Scared and speechless
my mother tried to guard me from him and always made sure that the people
around knew who he was. I remember on one encounter a market stall holder
was throwing cabbages at him.
I
was dragged through court after court bringing this man to justice but
justice was never met. Bobby, then known to be involved with the triads
was let off with a fine of £200.00 and a six month suspended sentence.
My
Dad had a house in Bath at the time; he had bought this as an investment
and a pension. We used to go there at weekends to decorate it; this is
when I started to turn nasty. Mum and I would fight all the time, she
used to try and restrain me and on occasions would slap me round the face
to try and control me. I would be punching her, kicking her and pulling
her hair out, It happened all the time, I was uncontrollable. I ran away
several times to my Dads and of course being a 13 year old with an attitude
the lies all came out, I used to tell my Dad that Mum was beating me.
The police came and in the end took me away from her. One of my Dads friends
was called and picked me up I was not allowed to see either of my parents
until the whole thing was investigated. I lived with Bridget in Muswell
hill for about 2 weeks still pursuing the fact that mum was beating me,
in the end mum gave up and said that I could go and live with my Dad.
That’s when we moved to Bath.
Dad
put me in a school in Bath and at first everything seemed to calm down.
It was a mixed school so of course I was into the boys. Dad lived with
Zoe and had done since I was a child, it was when dad was offered a job
to work on the Isle of Wight that things started going terribly wrong.
He would work away during the week and come home at weekends. Looking
back on things now Dad and Zoe both did a really great job of bringing
me up, they always helped me with my home work, took me out, allowed me
to stay with friends and I always had the latest things even though they
were second hand.
I
liked to ride my bike, I did a lot of that on my own along the River Avon,
and I met a few people that way too. I had piano lessons, trampoline classes
and went swimming once a week so to be honest my time with them was really
very good. It was when dad went away to work that I started to rebel.
I remember one night sitting in the living room doing my home work with
my dad and Zoe. I threw a massive tantrum throwing books all over the
place one of which hit Zoe in the face. All because I couldn't understand
a mathematical question and she was trying to explain but I just would
not listen. Looking back now and realising why I was like that was all
to do with people taking control. Zoe was taking control of a situation
by explaining something to me, where I wasn't listening and winding myself
up I lost control of myself.
So
that was how it started again with the tantrums and physical behaviour.
I ended up taking a huge overdose and was in hospital for a few weeks.
They made me to see a councillor and even with her I couldn’t control
myself. It did help slightly but I soon stopped attending my sessions.
I turned 15 and was too busy going out and getting drunk in the back fields
with my friends and messing around with my then boyfriend Pete.
Zoe
became pregnant and for me that was it. My life at the time felt like
it was over. My dad was not around all the time and all of a sudden there
was a baby on the scene grabbing all the attention. I didn't handle it
very well at all.
I
was still in school at the time just about to do my GCSE’s, I went to
see my social worker and he put me in a bed-sit at the other end of town.
I obtained government grants to help me out and when I left school I got
a job with one day a week at college. That’s where I managed to get my
NVQ Level 2 in Business Studies.
By
this time I had moved from the bed-sit into a B&B. The B&B was
ok because the people who ran it were parents of some guy I knew from
school. My Mum would come and stay every so often and Dad would always
visit. I was in the B&B for about 3 months and then I was offered
a flat. It was a really nice flat not decorated too well; well it probably
was for its time. I went from job to job not finding anything that I could
really get my teeth into. I ended up jobless and signing on at the age
of 16 so all this was in a space of a year.
I
was going out all the time, I had no money and was doing a bar job cash
in hand in the evenings.
I
used to go to a Jungle club in Roxbury’s, the night club in the centre
of town, on a Wednesday night every week for about a year.
At
the age of 17 I left Bath and moved back to London. I moved within a couple
of days, one minute I was there the next I was gone. I had again gone
through another ordeal; I was raped, not by one but by two people.
I
packed up a huge bag and left the next day for London. I went straight
to my mums in Hampstead where she was staying at the time. I was in a
state, Mum couldn’t understand it. I told her that I was moving back and
that I never wanted to go back to the flat ever again. The next day I
went to Oxford Street and walked around all the shops looking for a job.
I got offered one straight away working in Oasis in Regent Street; the
job was set to start on the Monday. It was Saturday and the following
day Mum and Ricky (my step Dad) came with me to Bath to collect the rest
of my personal belongings. I had to leave everything else there, the washing
machine, bed etc. I handed the keys in and that was the last I saw of
that flat.
6
Months later I was slowing getting back into the swing of things the job
was going well and I had made new friends, life seemed to be improving,
but it wasn’t.
I
had learned this new skill; It was to bottle everything up to the point
of breaking. Before I used to let it out in aggression, this time I was
taking overdoses and black outs without even knowing. Before I knew it
I was back in hospital. Mum had admitted me after she found me passing
out after having taken a whole packet of paracetamol. I was admitted to
the Nicole Ward at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. I’m not sure
how long I was there because that whole faze of my life was a black out.
All I remember is being in a bed next to really nutty people who would
swing from side to side and they would scream out in the middle of the
night. The doctors put me on Prozac, the anti depressant drug along with
some really strong injections which were to stop me from harming myself.
As soon as the Prozac started working I was out. I had, had a nervous
breakdown and I was only 17.
My
life had become very surreal and it didn't stop there. I went to visit
my Mum in London for the weekend with a friend. We were travelling on
the top deck of a bus one evening and a drunk man, in his 40s, suddenly
lunged at me. He was on top of me, holding me down and trying to hit me.
My friend Sarah was screaming "somebody help somebody help"
most of the people on the bus just looked on but one guy came to my rescue
and pulled him off. The bus driver stopped the bus asked if I was ok.
We fled from the bus andgot the next bus home. The police were called
and the guy was later caught in apizza restaurant causing a disturbance.
This went to court as well. Iremember the judge passing me a letter that
the drunk had written to me incourt; it said something about how he was
not in a good state of mind at thetime and for some reason he thought
I was out to get him.
So
that is how life began for me, I went through hell. I believe that is
why I am the person I am today and although I have faced my biggest challenge
yet I will get through it.
Since
moving back to London I have settled, I am now my own person. I have overcome
the lies and the torment that I put both my friends and family through
and I have made a success out of my life.
I
worked in Property Management for 7-8 years moving up the ladder each
time I changed jobs. I was very successful in what I did; I ran teams
of 25 people and instigated projects that would make companies millions.
I
left my job in June 2005 having just got myself out of debt, I decided
it was time for me to travel and experience things I could only dream
of, I left and moved to Thailand.
I
was only to live in Thailand for 9 months but the time I spent there was
probably the best time of my life.
I
moved back home in November 2006. It wasn’t safe in Thailand for a girl
on her own; having taken all my belongings with me I came back with none.
The
rest of my story I believe you already know through newspaper articles
and/or magazines.
I
am just like everybody else out there. I’m not perfect but I don’t claim
to be either. I do believe that I am a much better person today then I
ever have been. What doesn’t break you can only make you stronger.
I
now intend to live my life as fully as possible and I am a strong believer
that my life’s path had been set out for me, this was my purpose…. to
be diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and to do what I am doing now in raising
both awareness and money for a well needed cause.
I
don’t believe in God. I am not sure what I do believe in anymore but I
like to think that there are angles, I am quite spiritually minded. I
believe there are ghosts and I also believe that someone is watching over
me now, my Guardian
Angel.
Nothing
in my life has ever run smoothly. Although I had a few gruelling months
last year things have slowly progressed and here I am today.
I
am a strong believer that things happen for a reason and only good can
come out of evil.
