I was diagnosed in 2013 with breast cancer after a routine mammogram. I went in without a care never thinking ‘It could be me’, but it was and I came out in shock and on my own, knowing I had to tell my husband on the phone and that his mother had died with breast cancer just a few years earlier.

We had only moved to Australia in late 2010 and although we had met some great friends, we did not have the enveloping arms of lots of people, especially to support David, my husband and my daughters, while I was fighting my own battle.

Apart from the health worries, one of the immediate problems was the loss of an income, we were waiting for our permanent residency at the time, and therefore I was not eligible for any government assistance. While in hospital I had read about Be Uplifted and contacted them for help. Wendy and Barbara, the co-founders arrived at the house on that first visit and from that day onwards I was taken under their wing. They asked how they could assist on a practical level, we explained our situation and they went off to assess how they could help.

From Be Uplifted’s first visit, our immediate financial worries were dealt with and even when Christmas arrived help was at hand and in addition, a fantastic hamper that virtually took care of all the Christmas food!

Wendy now knows we call her our guardian angel; she always turns up when you most need both her and Be Uplifted!