By Jane Corscadden

Copyright belfastlive

A mum from Co Armagh said she hopes her bakery business will help leave a lasting legacy for her young son. Kacey Moore started her business Mama’s Cupcakes in Lurgan last summer, after suffering with postpartum depression. Five months after giving birth, she was in a serious car crash which left her unable to work due to extensive injuries. The 21-year-old said her injuries meant she couldn’t hold her newborn, but once she realised she could eventually pick up a spoon and begin baking, things began to turn around. Now, the young mum has created a successful business doing something she loves, and is looking to growing the brand further in the future. Speaking to Belfast Live about her journey so far, Kacey said: “From a very young age I became very depressed and suicidal. Then after having my little boy, I noticed everything started to get even worse. “I was just in a horrible place and five months postpartum, I was in a car accident that left me with an injury that meant I couldn’t return to work. It left me with paresthesia in my whole body, which meant the whole left side of my body would go completely numb for around four or five months. “After attending physio, he told me my muscles weren’t great, that I have a spinal injury and need to figure out a way forward. I was petrified of the gym, so thought, I’m sitting here in the house, can’t go to work, what should I do? “One random night I decided to make cookies. I was standing in the kitchen and realised I could do it, I could pick up a spoon, I could make something. It was really just from there that I fell in love with baking.” Kacey said her son is her inspiration for everything she does. She said: “I didn’t set out to be a business owner, I just really wanted to survive. With the injuries I had, I couldn’t lift my little boy until he was around nine or ten months old. “Having to sit on the sofa and listen to him cry in his moses basket and not being able to do anything, really did deteriorate everything. It went onto me trying to overdose, I was in such a place where I didn’t know how I was supposed to be a mum when I couldn’t even do something as simple as give him his dummy. “There was something that made me think if I could lift a bowl or spoon and start mixing, maybe I could lift my son – it just gave me that bit of hope. I still have my bad days, I’m not fully recovered. But seeing the growth I’ve gone through and the story as to why I have my business now, it just makes me want to keep going. “There were days I couldn’t breathe under the weight of it all. Days I didn’t think I’d ever see the other side and at one point I was nearly at my last breath. But something changed when I looked at my son, just a tiny baby at the time. I told myself: ‘He deserves to have a mum who never gives up.'” The 21-year-old said she is now able to look to the future. She said a community of loyal customers have built around Mama’s Cupcakes, with the business flying both on social media and in terms of sales. She is planning to start organising stall events, and hopes in the future to open her own bakery unit. Kacey hopes that sharing her story will give inspiration to others who find themselves in a similar position to herself. “Mama’s Cupcakes is a bakery, but at the same time, I want to be an advocate as to why I started this. I just really want this to be a community-led brand, so for my future plans, opening a bakery is definitely on the list,” she said. “I’m also starting to run events now, and I’m starting my own pre-packaged service, which will be shipped all across Ireland and the UK. “My community has always showed up to support me. Being a young mum who left school, most people would roll their eyes and tell me to get a proper job, but I’m just showing people that everything here can set my son up for life.” For anyone who is struggling and trying to find purpose, Kacey said: “Don’t let that voice telling you to quit to become your reality. You’re worth so much more than that, and if anyone tells you you can’t do it, that’s just one more reason to prove them wrong. Within such a short amount of time, I have come to this position when realistically, a year ago I thought I was going to be dead.” You can find out more about Mama’s Cupcakes by clicking here. Anyone who needs to talk to someone about mental health issues can call the Samaritans on 116123 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 . For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.