Alison Madgin, 53, Wallsend, Newcastle
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the remote, turned up the TV. Still, my favourite soap was drowned out by the Spice Girls. ‘Samantha!’ I shouted upstairs. ‘Turn it down!’
Instead, the volume went up.
It was 2007 and Samantha, 17, was pushing the boundaries.
Teenagers!
Still, I loved all of my kids madly – Lee, 21, Samantha and Carly, 16.
When Samantha began working as a dental nurse, as well as a part-time cleaner and barmaid, that year, I was really proud.
But, in September, she lost her sparkle.
‘What’s wrong?’ I said, watching her push food around her plate.
‘I just feel sick,’ she muttered.
Loss of appetite, sickness…
‘Are you pregnant?’
I asked her.
‘I’m sorry, Mum,’ she cried, bursting into tears.
I…
