Losing so many close loved ones, the only choice you have is to be resilient.
My name is Jade. I’m from Wales in the UK, and at the age of 35, I lost my mam, Teresa, to a heart attack. She was only 60 years old. I never imagined a life without my mother so early on. I always thought I’d have at least another ten or twenty years with her. The shock of losing her left me completely heartbroken.
After her passing, I decided to follow my dreams and move to Australia. My mam had always been my biggest supporter. She was so proud of the life I lived and used to tell me that she lived through me — that I was doing all the things she had always wanted to do herself. She and my stepdad had plans to come and visit me in Australia, something I was incredibly excited about.
I moved to Australia in January 2025, not expecting how difficult it would be to find work. During that time, my mam financially helped me so I could stay and keep chasing my dreams. She constantly reassured me, telling me not to give up and that everything would eventually fall into place. I kept pushing forward because I knew she wanted me to live the life she believed was best for me.
My mam had the kindest heart. She was always there for me without judgment, and I could talk to her about anything. She wasn’t just my mother — she was my best friend. We had the best conversations and laughed constantly. Everyone loved her for her kindness and her sense of humour. My stepdad often tells me I’m her “mini-me”, and I’m proud of that.
The day I found out about my mam’s passing, I was camping in Australia, celebrating my birthday with friends. At midday, I received an email with the best news I’d had since arriving — I’d been offered the job I’d been applying for, and I was finally going to work in the mines. I was overjoyed, and the first person I told was my mam. I texted her to say thank you for helping me, that I’d be lost without her, and that I’d finally achieved what I’d been working so hard towards. I saw that the message had been read. That brings me comfort, knowing she saw it before she passed away.
The last message she sent me said we should have a group call on my birthday with my brother and sister. It was April 19th — my brother’s birthday is on the 18th, and mine is on the 20th. That evening, I had a missed call from my sister, which felt strange at the time. Then my brother messaged saying he needed to speak to me. In that moment, I knew something wasn’t right. He told me my mam had passed away that morning from a heart attack.
My heart shattered into a million pieces. All I wanted was to be home with my family, but I was so far away. Friends back home booked me a flight, but because it was a bank holiday, the earliest I could return was two days later. Those days felt unbearable. I just had to keep going until I could be back with my family.
I was shocked to be faced with this loss again. After everything I had already been through over the years, it felt like I was back at square one. I felt lost, stripped of my identity, and emotionally numb. There were moments when I didn’t want to keep living this life. But with the right help and support, I’ve slowly been able to start living again. I’ve begun to see the beauty in things, taking each day as it comes, and honouring what my loved ones would want for me — to keep going and to keep making them proud. That’s why I’ve continued my life in Australia, even though it’s incredibly hard being so far away from the people I love back home.
I’ll always be grateful for the friends I had in Australia who supported me through that time, as well as the incredible support from family and friends back home. When you hit rock bottom, you truly see who’s there for you — and I’ll never forget it.
Over the last two decades, I’ve experienced a great deal of loss. In 2008, I lost my uncle Lee to suicide. Four years later, my Auntie Sharron also passed away the same way. She was like a second mam to me. Both she and my uncle helped keep me from going down the wrong path in life. After my aunt passed away, I moved to England to live with my best friend, Simone. She became like a sister to me, and we were inseparable. Four years later, she tragically passed away after falling from her building while trying to get back inside. She died instantly. I decided to stay in England after her death, where I met my partner, Jon. He was kind, understanding, and incredibly supportive of my grief. He made me believe I could find happiness again. We were together for only a few months before he passed away from a heart attack.
That same year, in October, I lost my dad. He had been battling MS for 25 years and had grown extremely ill. After catching pneumonia, his body could no longer fight. Watching him suffer for so many years was heartbreaking.
I wanted to keep making my parents proud by following my dream in Australia, and this is how I practiced resilience.
You’re not alone, and there are people out there who will listen and understand.
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