2008-9 winners: Inspirational mum of the year

The 2008-9 Inspirational Mother of the Year Award goes to:

Hazel Scott Towers 

She was nominated by Kathryn Hellewell. This is her story:

I have known Hazel since we were 10. Hazel is mother to Oscar who is almost 5 and was born with many complications including problems with his heart, kidneys and cranium and others, which remain undiagnosed. He is not yet able to walk or talk and I have lost count of the number of operations and medical procedures he has been subjected to. In the first two years of his life he had over 350 scheduled doctor's appointments. Hazel gives 150% to Oscar and his care. She is constantly researching ways and means to improve his prognosis and his quality of life; often successfully challenging medical opinion. She takes on freelance PR work (doing it in the evening) to pay for Oscar's physio through the charity Footsteps yet also finds the time to give her PR skills for free to Footsteps. After I gave birth to Leo in October last year she was always there for me on the other end of the phone to guide me through the rollercoaster of new motherhood. All this even when her second son Kyan was born 7 weeks after Leo. She is relied upon by many friends and family members and always finds time for me and for them despite everything she has going on in her own life. She is truly remarkable, an inspiration to Oscar and Kyan and to me.