Last updated at 12:00, Monday, 11 March 2013

A DAUGHTER has lavished praise on her "amazing" mum who has helped her through trauma, tragedy and everyday life.

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On the eve of Mother's Day, Samantha Wright has expressed appreciation for her mum and best friend, Barbara Wright, who has helped her overcome everything from teenage tantrums to family deaths.

Miss Wright, 26, herself a mother of two, said her mum gave her the best start in life.

"She helped me through a horrendous period of bullying, when at eight I tried to poison myself," said Miss Wright, a former Alfred Barrow School pupil.

"Secondary school was a different matter in my eyes. I was a teenager, and a stroppy one at that, but even with all the arguing and stubborn teenage antics, she stood proud and was still there if I needed her.

"I was again bullied rather badly and turned to self-harm. My mum was my rock."

Aged 16, Miss Wright was involved in a car crash at Newby Bridge.

She broke her neck, damaged her back, had problems with her memory and suffered severe depression.

"My mum had to shower me, almost carry me upstairs for months, and then when I had my daughter in 2005 she had to help me there too, as bending or lifting were nearly impossible and the pain some days was debilitating. I was virtually a helpless child again. As per, she just did it."

In 2009, Miss Wright, who now lives in Lancaster, had a stillborn birth of daughter Jasmaine Blue at Furness General Hospital.

She said: "This broke my mum’s heart, but did my mum go and curl up and cry? No. She waited until I was OK before she let herself hurt."

Earlier this year, Miss Wright's uncle Terry Anderson, 61, was found dead in Walney Channel.

"The circumstances have torn two families to bits,” said Miss Wright.

"My mum was there from the beginning and was hurting as much as everybody else.

"Terry had four step-kids whose own mother had just had the love of her life taken away from her so cruelly – they were struggling to stay strong and she couldn't be there for them herself. Instead, my mum took Terry's partner, her sister-in-law, to her house and looked after her for a few weeks there.

"She opened her doors and her arms to his step-kids and grandkids, his friends and family. We needed someone to stand up and be strong and, again, that was my mum."

Miss Wright added: "She is the most understanding and caring person I know. She will do anything, for anyone, to the best of her ability."

Mum-of-two Mrs Wright, 61, of Roose Road, Barrow, has had her own problems, living with osteoporosis since she was in her 20s.

Her parents have both recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and her friend Ellie was killed in a traffic collision at Walney bridge roundabout around five years ago.

"It's typical Sam," said a stunned Mrs Wright.

First published at 12:51, Monday, 11 March 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk