Blind son praises Mum of the Year

A WOMAN who went back to school so that her blind son could learn to read was yesterday declared Mum of the Year.

Nuala Hussey from Dublin Hill, Cork, went to night school to learn Braille and then taught her 19-year-old son Trevor to use it so he could participate in mainstream education.

Day after day the selfless mother of four used to sit at the back of Trevor’s classroom in St Mary’s on The Hill in Knocknaheeny until she was sure he was able to cope on his own.

Trevor, one of four sons, was born with a congenital eye defect and has been completely blind since he was two years old.

He nominated his mother for the Woman’s way Mum of the Year Competition simply because she was always there for him when the going got tough.

“She gave me the self-confidence I needed. She did not mollycoddle me. I was treated the same as my other brothers and that helped a lot,” Trevor said yesterday.

Both he and his 17-year- old brother, Edward, have just completed their Leaving Certificate and Trevor now plans to become a professional masseur.

Trevor still believed his mother would win even after hearing the amazing stories of the other 12 regional finalists picked from 400 nominations. “We’re just so proud of her. We love her to bits,” he said.

Nuala, aged 51, said she never thinks about herself and that makes it easier to reach out and help her family. “What you give you get back,” she said.

Married life has not been easy for Nuala. She lost her first son, Christian, tojaundice when he was just 22 months old and her second son, Darren, aged 20, was born a year later with a rare condition that has weakened his immune system. Her husband, Michael, also suffers from ill-health.

Connacht winner Patricia Armstrong from Sligo is looking forward to a life-changing trip to an orphanage in Moldova.

The mother of two, who also cares for people with special needs, ran eight marathons for charity before she was diagnosed with cancer four years ago.

Bernie Conn from Dublin, a woman who works at three different jobs so that her four children will want for nothing, was the Leinster regional winner.

Marie Sweeney from Donegal was the Ulster winner. Warned not to have more than two children, she had eight. At one stage, she cooked and cleaned for 12 people.

The competition, sponsored by Bosch, was launched on Mother’s Day. Magazine editor Fionnuala McCarthy said every nomination told a story of great bravery, unrelenting commitment and dedication.