On the 27th May 2005, you were diagnosed with leukaemia. I will never forget that day, I remember thinking why Penny. What has she ever done to deserve this? You made a joke of it to try and cheer me up saying things like 'well mam I don't do things by half'. You are right there, it has always been all or nothing with you. I stopped going to university so I could be with you, it wasn't a case of you needing me it was the other way round. You are and always will be my best friend and I could talk to you about anything and I am not just saying that because you are my daughter. I remember needing to make a decision about university, whether to take six months out or quit altogether. To me the answer was simple, quit, Obviously you were more important than university. Your answer was different to mine though you said 'Don't use me as an excuse' You may of only been 16 at the time but where you got the intelligence and knowledge of life from I will never know. You learnt me a great deal! I am now back at university because you gave me the strength and I am trying to uphold your wish, I am not using you as an excuse. It is hard but I am trying. People think I am hard when I tell them about you and they say how do you carry on? The answer to that is that I have found an inner strength and I am able to put on a brave face most of the time. I hope you are half as proud of me as I am of you. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction. Love you always mam.XX