Almost 14 years ago, I took on the full time care of my great niece Jemma (pictured above with Carmel). She was just 15 months old when she first came to live with us.

At the time I had my three teenage boys still living at home. Two of them have Opitz Syndrome and one is bipolar. And my husband had just started his journey of poor health.

I quickly decided to take Jemma in as her mother had disappeared and father was unknown. There was substantial difficulty with Human Services agreeing she should be with us.

After the trauma of getting her returned, we sat down for dinner with this screaming child who didn't understand what on earth was happening to her.

Jemma spent the next seven months trying to settle back to normality. Then it took us another 8 years to stop bad behaviour around Australia Day (she was taken the day before Australia Day).

We've now spent the last three years of realising that Jemma has learning difficulties and obtained a placing in a special school, where she has excelled in sporting activities and the best of all the friendship stakes.

Looking back on her behaviours, her insecurities, her separation anxiety, her issue with clothing on her skin, we are now in the process of having her assessed for autism.

Through all the years that we've had with Jemma, she has undergone numerous operations on her mouth, after being born with a partial cleft palette. Then again for her jaw realignment. And then again for braces to get her teeth working the way to eat properly.

Within the next couple of years she'll need surgery on her feet, as she has four hammer toes that need to be rectified. All in all, we have poured all our love and care into this beautiful young lady and are so proud of what she has achieved.

What's something extremely important to carers that you wish everyone knew?
To take notes on everything has been said in meetings, physically write down the names of everyone you speak to.

Note all dates and times of people you speak to.

Don't let any of those so-called authorities put you down. Hold fast to your decisions.

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