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pollylovegale
  Junior Member

I am a single mother of 4 children, one of which is now in heaven. On April 1st 2020 my eldest son died by suicide. He was 21 years old and a young father to a beautiful little girl. She is currently six years old. My son had undiagnosed learning difficulties and mental health issues and was therefore let down by the system. The issues my son faced urged me to be become better educated about mental health and social inclusion, so I supported myself through college and then university. At the age of 42 I left a long term abusive relationship while I was pregnant with my 4th child. My higher education journey began by enrolling at college to study a level 3 diploma - Childcare and Education. Then in 2016, I took a big leap into the unknown and enrolled at university to study social justice and Inclusion. After achieving a first class honours degree - BA: Individuals, Families and Communities, I was invited to study an MA: Equity and Diversity in Society. I was 50 years old. Six months into my studies my eldest son died by suicide. My eldest daughter was also at university at the time studying a BA: Advocacy. On the 1st of April just after the first lockdown began our entire world collapsed when I found my son unresponsive at the family home. I don't know how my daughter and I both finished our degrees, I suppose it was a distraction at the time. Nonetheless, my children and I feel the pain and the loss every single day. Our lives will never be the same again. I've always enjoyed writing poems, but after the tragic loss of my son I use poetry to help me deal with the traumatic grief, but also to raise awareness of social issues. I learned at university that I have ADHD, Developmental Coordination Disorder and Dyslexia. My youngest son was diagnosed with ADHD and Developmental Coordination Disorder at age 8. He is now 13 and currently being home educated. I accidentally stumbled across poetry.com and decided to enter the upcoming competition.