Pick Me Up! 07-Mar-2019

Crawling into bed, I waited for the dizziness to subside. It was December 2017 and it was the first time I’d felt like this in 11 years. I’d suffered with vertigo when I was 26 but had never got an official diagnosis. But this time it was knocking me for six. I struggled to get out of bed, couldn’t stand up straight. My doctor advised me not to drive. And that’s when my mum stepped in. ‘I can drive you about,’ she offered. ‘No Mum, I don’t want to bother you,’ I protested. ‘I can sort something out.’ But she gave me one of her looks and she’s been there for me ever since. Every appointment, every test and hospital visit, she came and sat by my side. Mum is…

There’s only a few things that can keep my daughter Emily, 3, quiet – food and a copy of Pick Me Up! magazine. Sarah Carter, via e-mail My daughter Niomehy, 6, loves all things hippy. Here she is playing her guitar and enjoying some peace and quiet. Kate Clayton, Kettering I think I look more than the part on my visit to the West Midlands Police Museum at: The Lock-Up. Frances Mason, Birmingham My hubby Ben, 37, insisted that he and our daughter Jessica get matching football shirts to represent her first holiday to Portugal – I think he just wanted one for himself. Jane Lock, Preston It was surreal casually bumping into Brian McFadden from Westlife at Manchester Airport. Diane Buckley, Cheshire Here is a…

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Huddled around my friend’s computer in 2012, a message from a dark-haired man popped up on Facebook chat. Hey, what are you up to? it said. ‘Who’s that?’ I asked. ‘Matthew, a friend of a friend,’ my mate laughed. I could only see a small profile picture, so couldn’t work out what he looked like. I’m here with my friend Jude, my pal typed back. We spent the night speaking with him on Messenger before he added me as a friend. For the next week, we chatted non-stop. I want to meet you in person, Matthew finally said. I wasn’t sure. I was only 15, and Matthew was three years older. But he was persistent, and seemed like a nice guy, so eventually, I agreed to meet a few nights…

My daughter was born in August 2015 - but a month later, I was feeling low. I was struggling to bond with her and had been diagnosed with postnatal depression. So when Matthew contacted me to congratulate me, I agreed to his request to meet up. I wasn’t sure if I still had feelings for him, but he was the only form of stability I’d known in years. Only, he stood me up, and when I went round to his flat to see what was happening, he seemed drunk. That’s when I realised he was never going to change. ‘It’s over, Matthew,’ I cried. All my feelings for him had completely disappeared. I knew I had to speak out, and it had to be now Not long after, I heard…

There was a split second of silence. Then the room exploded with whoops and cheers. It was April last year, and me and my husband Michael, 40, were telling our kids some news. ‘Mummy’s got a baby in her belly,’ I beamed. Eight excited faces grinned back at me. Yes, this was my ninth baby! I was already mum to Connor, 17, Kian, 15 , Evie, 14, Callum, 11, Tayla, 10, Louie, 8, Lottie, 5, and 11-month-old Bonnie. Michael, a service engineer for a fire-alarm company, was dad to the younger five, and a fab stepdad to my older three from a previous relationship. Our five-bedroomed house was chaotic but full of love and laughter. When we went anywhere as a family, people would gasp - ‘How do you cope?’…