Mother saved by daughter goes on to win PhD scholarship (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Mother saved by daughter goes on to win PhD scholarship

4:30pm Saturday 9th March 2013 in News By Joanna Morris

A MOTHER saved by her daughter won a PhD scholarship after completely transforming her life.

After struggling with depression, Darlington mum Karen Dodsworth was poised to kill herself when her then five-year-old daughter Evie found her, took a knife from her hands and gave her a hug, saying “Mummy, I love you.”

Mrs Dodsworth, 39, said the moment was a turning point in her life. Inspired to become a better role model for her daughter, she went to university as a single mother and managed to gain a first class degree, going on to win scholarships to study for a masters degree and PhD – despite falling pregnant with twins and remarrying during her studies.

She said: “I was a single mother when I went to university and it was a nightmare. My grant went on paying my mortgage. I had no hot water and no money for heating. We were living on beans on toast.

“I would sit up until 4am writing essays then get up to take Evie to school at 7am. Then, after a whirlwind romance I got married and fell pregnant with my twins Erin and Rowen straight away. I’d finish essays in the car with my laptop resting on my bump.”

She is now working towards a PhD at Leeds Metropolitan University and hopes to travel to Uganda to help tackle the issue of female genital mutilation.

She said: “I want to make a difference. I never thought I would say that because I was always so self-centred. I look at who I am now compared to who I was and I can see how much I have to give."