I am a 25 year old South-African woman, wife, business owner and Mama!

I am a 25 year old South-African woman, wife, business owner and Mama! I am also an individual and personality.

Before I tell you what I stand for, let me tell you my story. Where I come from.

Born in September 1996 to a mother who was barely 15 years old, going into foster care at 5 months old and being adopted at 9 months old. Giving me up for adoption is the wisest choice my biological mother could have made as the life I have led is far from what it could have been had she chosen to keep me.

My adoptive parents were very kind and loving. I was an only child wishing daily to have siblings instead of being alone, but unfortunately that was not something that my mother could provide. Her heart ached and she did try before I was even adopted, but she was a heart transplant patient. Suffering two miscarriages and drinking hands full of medication to maintain her health each day was more than any woman should ever be able to handle.

I grew up quite spoiled, I may not have gotten every single item that I ever wanted, but all the attention was always on me and yes, I did get what I want when my parents had the means to provide it.

I led a fairly normal childhood as most middle class children do, except for one thing. From the age I was able to understand well enough, I was prepared for the fact that my mother would not live very long into my adulthood. And she did not, but we will get there in a moment.

I was the very sporty type of kid. I did every sport you could think of and my parents supported it as they were not able to do it as children themselves. At the age of 12, at the peak of my primary school sporting career, I got sick. My arm was purple and swollen and the doctors could not find what was wrong. They “suspected” it is Sympathetic Neuralgia and eventually my body healed itself with slight muscle weakness left in my one arm and hand.

That following year my mom’s health started taking a toll too. The arteries around her heart started narrowing. We started with 2 stents and an angiogram every six months. Every year since, she has received a new stent.

Everything seemed to be the “new normal” from there and my mom started working only half-day to come home and rest in the afternoons.

Highschool came and so did bursaries, excitement and some attitude. Mom and I started fighting A LOT. She fought because she wasn’t feeling well and I fought, well because I was a teenager with no regard for anyone’s feelings other than my own.

In ninth grade something MAJOR happened. It was the first day of June exams and I had athletics practice afterwards. About half an hour into practice I felt my lower back getting numb, a pins and needles sensation. I immediately called mom and she came to pick me up. When we stopped at home dad pulled into the driveway right behind us. I opened the door and started “getting out” only, my legs didn’t move and I couldn’t feel them either.

After a 2 month hospital stay and 1 month of physical rehab I returned home and to school with one leg functioning and the other one not. Another two months and I eventually started regaining function and some sensation.

In that same year, mom’s kidneys and liver started suffering the side effects from her long term use of heart medication. Which also resulted in more medication and a daily fluid ration of 1 liter.

In 2012 it was pretty much same old but I started suffering in school, both academically and socially, I missed so much in school the year prior. I started skipping school, staying in bed in the morning and avoiding my studies after trying so hard to catch up for months.
Dad also got into a motorcycle accident this year and broke his leg in two places.

In eleventh grade mom and dad finally decided to look for a new school as I had already given up and they were out of solutions. We also joined a new church this year and things were finally starting to look up as I joined the youth band, youth leadership and got a boyfriend. And yes, I just said that in the same sentence as church is where we met and we got to know one another within a band setting.

This year we were also told that doctors could no longer do anything for mom’s health condition.

In 2014 I was in matric. My mom’s patience were at it’s limit and I was at the peak of my teenage attitude. In October, during the record exams we had a physical altercation and I moved out of the house that day. The way I moved out was not ideal but as you get to know me you will realise that this was what saved our relationship.

In 2015 I started studying and working, not much to say here as that was literally the only things I did that year.

Fast forward to 2016 September, my boyfriend and I decided to move in together as we were spending every day together anyway and didn’t want to live between two different places unnecessarily. November we got engaged and January 2017 we tied the knot.

We immediately had the desire to start our own family and when that didn’t happen after a few months we decided to see a doctor. I had a cyst that had to be resolved and we were told to return in three months should I not be pregnant by then. Two months after seeing the doctor Mom passed away. Total organ failure and I was the last person to be with her. August my grandfather passed away and September I turned 21 years old. In the midst of all this we forgot about what we wanted before this.

November 2017 we put an offer in on our first house. We got the house and were told that we would be able to move in at the end of January 2018. 4 days before moving into the house we found out we were expecting our first child. Kayden was born in August 2018 at 35 weeks 4 days gestation due to a placental rupture caused by placenta prevea. His weight put too much pressure on the placenta. All went well and November we started talking about a second baby, I was still on maternity leave.

January 2019 when I returned to work, my husband and a colleague were convinced that I am pregnant again and I agreed to take a pregnancy test as a bet. Little did I know… Two days after returning to work from my maternity leave I had to inform my manager that I was expecting again.
Things at work were not all cupcakes and rainbows before I left for maternity leave and it still wasn’t when I returned.

After a few months of contemplating, my husband and I decided that I should resign and give my own business a shot. I started my business in May 2019 and Aryana was born in August. The business came with a lot of hours and many mental and financial ups and downs. More than we anticipated.

Then covid struck. First Hubby started working from home, then my business ventures started to grow rapidly and we still had two kids at home who needed caring. When we started out, I thought I would be able to homeschool my children and still be able to give enough time to the business. I think NOT. It was an impossible task and soon realised that we would need to send the kids to school as soon as schools opened again.
October 2020 came and it was time for school, then we also happened to find out I was pregnant, AGAIN!!

Ezra was born in April 2021. Did I mention all my kids were emergency c-sections? After three very unpleasant pregnancies I decided to have my tubes tied as I am not willing to go through another pregnancy by choice.

The business was still rapidly growing at this point and I had to send him to school at only 2 months old. This mama heart totally broke that day and that little boy was SO happy to be interacting with people all day.

My story could have more details or longer explanations, but this is where I come from. As time passes I will share more detailed stories individually.

I come from a place of love, hardships, hard work, motherhood, entrepreneurship, insecurities and confidence. What I share will always come from my life and my heart, but it will also tell you what valuable lessons and values I’ve learnt by going through that situation.

If you read this, you may find most of my stories quite sad, but I’ll show you that there is love and joy in most experiences we have.