About Ange

Hello, I’m Ange.  

I live on the Gold Coast in Sunny Queensland, Australia. I am a mother and a young grandmother and my daughter, at 3 and 3/4 years old, developed childhood Leukaemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (aka ALL) to be precise, and had to endure nearly two and a half years of chemotherapy. From that moment I became a Carer and we embarked on the most chaotic journey I never expected to be travelling in my younger years.

A Journey No One Would Envy

Facing issues that were left undiagnosed and therefore untreated and unsupported for

many years following her Leukaemia, we went through years of hell, not knowing what was happening to my daughter as she slowly progressed downhill. Extremely late diagnosis with Developmental (Complex) PTSD, suicidal thoughts, Adult ADD, learning difficulties, social skill issues, problem solving skills, substance abuse, left brain and frontal lobe damage and the ensuing emotional roller coaster is just one side of the story.

This journey as I will share it with you, is not all about our negative experiences, it has also been filled with new knowledge and discovery too, and has shaped my life in many ways and steered me towards a much better future than I could have imagined if things had been different. I can’t even begin to think about what life would have been like if this hadn’t happened to us, although I expect it might have been rather uneventful. 

 

Education and Interests That Are Dear To My Heart

 

Life before my daughter became ill was pretty ordinary. I went through school, got my Higher School Certificate (i.e. Year 12)), got married to a soldier in the army, became a mother, and ended up with a casual job in a snack bar at a tenpin bowling alley.  I thought I was achieving something that was expected of me and that my life would go through the motions of motherhood, the children years, the teenager years, the grandparenting years and finally old age. Riveting I’m sure, but I was young and innocent and could not see me in my future life. I didn’t think I was good at anything and had resigned myself to thinking all I would ever be was a wife and mother. I had no specific career aspirations, in fact, I had no idea what careers there were in the world. Yeah, my school guidance officer was not at all helpful with their careers guidance and I was too naïve to understand that there might be more to life than an archaic version of marriage, kids and the white picket fence.  

 

 

From The Ashes Rose A Phoenix

 

I became separated from my husband a short time prior to my daughter’s illness. Since she became ill, this is what happened on my journey in terms of growth. I completed a Bachelor of Health Science degree, I also partially completed a Bachelor of Health Science in Naturopathy, and I am trained in Reiki, Vitaflex and Raindrop Technique. I studied a post-graduate diploma in secondary education, teaching Science, Biology and HPE (Health and Physical Education) but did not pursue this as a career as my heart led me elsewhere. I became more financially educated and am striving to meet the various goals I want for my family. All the while I became my daughter’s Carer and slowly began to be recognised as such, but I must say even the recognition for that did not come easily.

I became aware of some dangerous things in our surroundings and in our widely accepted knowledge of how things work in this world and also began to suspect that not all was well in the pharmaceutical industry nor the people we entrust the care of our environment to. I learned to question much and it has been a driving factor in even more of my learning journey.

I also love the physical and emotional support my therapeutic grade essential oils give me and other people I share them with, and I am trying to keep my home and environment as chemical free as possible. We use as much natural medicine and remedies as we can. I am also studying a small course about balancing Chakras and another about the use of essential oils with crystals, and recently registered to learn to use Moxi Sticks. Therapeutic methods and emotional healing are a big part of me. I wrote my first book a couple of years ago, with plans for more, became a blogger and a business builder as I started to think about multiple streams of income. 

 

Suddenly Things Changed Again

 

Then suddenly I was a grandmother, to 3 grandchildren with another one on the way, and a decision was made to homeschool them all after the energy of the world shifted in 2020, when many things changed in what many thought of as a normal life. Now we are moving in a new direction again, and further away from the ‘usual’ systems and ideals of the norm, and couldn’t be more excited. I can spend hours looking for resources to use as homeschooling learning experiences simply because I love it. I love finding new things and love the opportunity for my grandkids to enjoy their own child-led learning. As it turned out, my eldest granddaughter didn’t really enjoy traditional school, but is thriving learning what she wants to learn. 

 

 

I’m probably what you would call a bit of a black sheep because I do not necessarily follow the mainstream belief patterns we are fed, preferring to see the world from my own awakened perspective.  Let’s just say that Big Pharma, the media, the billionaires and the other big players involved in shaping the world to their own ideals, regardless of whether it is beneficial or not to humanity, are not on my Christmas card list. There is a time and place for pharmaceuticals, and a time and place for healthy eating and natural medicines. I prefer the latter as a preventative rather than waiting for the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. 

 

I’m Where I Least Expected To Be Had I Tried To Predict My Future

 

There is always a flip side of the coin and I guess this experience with having a gravely ill child was mine. It was only because of my daughter’s illness and my desire for answers that I ever studied health, natural options for wellness, and went down the route of finding out how to avoid something like this in the future and ventured onto the path of emotional healing. I am able to find the positives in the difficulties we have faced and I hope you can too if you are going through ‘stuff’ as well. Just look at what I have achieved, where I am today, and what I learned along the way. I could have just wallowed in self pity, but I decided to keep going, and keep learning, and keep moving forward. I decided to be a support to my daughter, especially in difficult times, and even when it seemed that I was beating my head up against a brick wall. If these things didn’t happen to me, I would be just a shadow of the person I am today, and if I didn’t support my daughter in her journey, her outcomes may not have been what they are today either. 

 

So Why Am I Here Writing This Blog?

 

I’m here because I want to show you ways to cope, to see a bigger picture, give you alternatives to the mainstream, help you see the blessings in what life dishes out to you, regardless of whether you are a Carer or not, or just someone who has been going through a lot. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, let me help you find it.  There are so many things you can be doing for yourself to help get you through the worse times of your life. Walk a little lighter and lift the weight off your shoulders. I believe that we all have that ability to take steps, even small ones, to change our lives for the better. 

Thanks for reading and I am very excited to be here.

Ange