I would like to nominate my mum Ruth Teller.
She is the most amazing selfless human I know, she works for Counties Manukau Home care and has done for over 20 years. She takes care of the elderly and disabled cleaning cooking showering and always goes above and beyond she treats her clients like they are family and makes sure they get the best possible care she can give them.
She is also the most amazing mother and even better grandmother to my kids.
We have had a tough few years mum had radiation therapy for breast cancer which she beat, she was there for me with kidney stones and chronic pain syndrome 56 hospital admittance and countless operations and procedures, picking up the kids when I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital and then often picking me up into the small hours of the morning from hospital.
Then four and a half years ago my dad got diagnosed with bowel cancer, public hospital would not treat him and our health insurance only covered so much, while taking him to appointments and having chemotherapy she sat there studying doing her papers for level 5 business management diploma all while researching other options to help dad.
Sadly the first round of treatment didn’t go so well so we had to pay for more I added my name to their mortgage so we could top it up to pay for his $70,000 new round of chemotherapy.
Dad unfortunately lost the fight for his life on July 31st 2017.
My dad was everything to us and even more to my kids, mum had lost her soulmate they had been married for over 25 years, mum coped so well to say I am proud of her is a massive understatement, she always puts everyone else’s needs before her own and will never hesitate to do it, she is the epitome of a kindness queen and I hope one day I can be even half the amazing woman she is. I am sure there are many woman out there going through terrible times and mum would be the first one to say they deserve this more but for once just once I would love for her to get some of the kindness back that she gives so freely to anyone and everyone else.

Thank you so very much for your time, I really appreciate you reading our story,

Ps the photo attached is of the amazing lady that is my mum with my kids at her graduation, she continued to study after dad passed even though she wanted to give up, because she knew dad would have wanted her to finish❤️

- Natasha Teller 

6th July 2020