Whilst studying at University, I met and became friends with such a wonderful woman, Cristina Cabral. Originally born in sunny Portugal, Cristina is also extremely proud of her African heritage and can speak fluently in: Portuguese, Spanish, Creole and English. She has lived in America, working as a financial reporter at 'New York Financial Press,' gained a previous degree in 'Cinema Video and Multimedia' and directed and produced award winning documentaries but it doesn't stop there. Above all this, Cristina is an amazing mother of two very young children, Lauryn aged 4 and Joylen, just 1 years old.
When Cristina first joined 'The University Of West London' Lauryn was an only child but this soon changed when Cristina fell pregnant, during the second year of her studies. With this joyful news, Cristina decided to defer for a year, putting her broadcast journalism dreams on hold to be a mummy to a young child and a newborn, her little boy Joylen.
Most expectant mothers precisely plan the births of their babies, they know exactly how they want to give birth and therefore put in place detailed birth plans to make their dreams a reality. Their baby will be born naturally, with no complications but unfortunately, reality is, not every pregnancy works out like this. This pregnancy was not an easy ride for Cristina, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which meant she had to strictly monitor what she ate, along with injecting and endless blood sugar checks, to keep her and her baby alive and well. When Cristina was 35 weeks pregnant, she was diagnosed with high-stage pre-eclampsia and although she had no symptoms, in the next twenty-four hours, everything would change. The expectant mother's liver function levels became sky high, her kidneys were not responding and devastatingly the placenta was no longer working properly. Cristina's precious baby had stopped growing, thus meaning Joylen had to be delivered, immediately.
Joylen was born, via C-section, weighing just 1570 grams. Mother and son did not get to bond immediately after delivery, Joylen's lungs were underdeveloped and he needed to be taken to neonatal intensive care unit. After twenty-four hours, Cristina got to meet her miracle baby. Cristina's husband quit his job to care full time for their young daughter at home, whilst Cristina spent the next few weeks by her little boy's side; learning how to care for Joylen in the hospital until he was strong enough to go home. Just when Cristina thought the sight, smell and sounds of the hospital were to become a memory, Joylen developed a hernia. Cristina's tiny little baby had to have surgery but Cristina was determined to stay strong. Thankfully, the operation was a huge success and Joylen made a full recovery.
A year on, Cristina is mother to a pretty little princess and a happy, healthy, beautiful little boy. Joylen is now a thriving baby that loves to play and copy his big sister! Amazingly, Cristina is back at University and has thrown herself into her studies. She plays radio host on her "Student Parent Show" (click to listen) every Monday on 'UWL BLAST RADIO,' achieves great grades and above all is a devoted, caring, amazing Mother. This 'SuperMum' is living proof that you can also achieve your dreams and thrive academically whilst juggling parenthood. A true 'SuperStudent,' AND 'SuperParent', to both of her beautiful 'SuperChildren.'
