I was brought up by parents who were ‘functioning alcoholics’, who loved and cared for us. I thought it the ‘norm’ that everyone drank every day. I have a brother who is still in active addiction and this could have been me in the 1990’s. But I changed the way I looked at alcohol, as both my parents died at a young age due to alcohol, and I didn’t want to go down the same track.

I have been nursing in the AOD sector for over 12 years now and I feel my family history may have been the reason I was drawn to this area of nursing. I love connecting with people and hope in some way I can help them and their families along their journey to recovery.