Contributed by Mia Von M, Slovakia.

My name is Sandra, although my given name is Alexandra and my artistic moniker is Mia…

I grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia and I’m 28 years old. When I was 18, I managed to get away to London for a couple of days…Then later and all of a sudden I decided to go live in Prague, Pardubice and Plzen…Later still, I lived a couple of months in Northern Ireland and Germany…But I always returned to Slovakia…Perhaps that is the way it should have always been. Nothing happens for no reason…I am now  mom to a lovely son and we live just outside of Bratislava, Slovakia.

My little one – Viktor – was neither a planned nor an expected baby. Viktor – meaning victorious – was born in the 30th week and so he was a little fighter from the start. He is amazing and such a cutie. My pregnancy started off great, at 3-4 months I was still doing model shoots in Belgium and Milan, I found out I was pregnant in my 4th month. It was a huge shock because I thought that I couldn’t have children. I still didn’t know what to think of after checking with the  doctor. I had mixed feelings of happiness and a fear of failing. I used to do drugs, I drank a lot and my life was about to flip 180 degrees.

I stopped everything – drugs, alcohol and even coffee. I wanted to be really responsible. My sonogram was bad. I didn’t have enough amniotic fluid and had a very high-risk pregnancy overall. I was home all the time, bedridden. At 29 weeks I suddenly felt really weak, nauseous and was about to faint. I called an ambulance and they said that I was in labour. I was in hospital for a week, and thedoctors tried to keep the baby inside but in the 30th week I delivered via C-section.

I didn’t get to see my baby after the delivery, they took him straight to the ICU. He was premature and was losing more weight after and suffered a brain hemmorage. He spent 3 months in an incubator, but he fought hard and won. He lives up to his name, Viktor. He is my little warrior.

So what about me?

My life has completely changed. I traded a “sex, drugs and rockn’n’roll” life and became much more independent, learning not to rely on other people. I started to value the little things and every day was something new- something great.

But that’s not the end of my story. As though it was all not enough, I became a single mom. Last year Viktor’s dad hit me and broke my ribs. After the police came to investigate, Ii packed my things and left. What followed next were countless threats, stalking, scary phone calls, messages, emails.. it was never-ending..

Just recently Viktor started seeing him again twice a week. I realized that I could not mope and beat myself up whenever  Viktor had gone to see his father so I started using that time for photo shoots,as a tattooed model. He is 1 now and stays with his grandma, while I travel for shoots. My body is even more luxurious than it was before. I’ve always enjoyed posing and photoshoots. It is my passion – I get high on it without taking anything and I also get payed for it so it really is like  mixing pleasure with passion.

You may be surprised at why I let my ex see  Viktor after all he has done. He is his father after all and without him, Viktor wouldn’t be here. I don’t want Viktor to resent me later on for keeping him from getting to know his dad. He will decide for himself if he wants to stay in touch with him or not when he is older.

So what do I really want to say to others?

Follow your dreams, ignore the haters. Be the lion and don’t care what the sheep think. As a woman and a mom, don’t be discouraged by challenge. It’s not easy but as a mother- you would do anything for your kids. Don’t let anybody hurt you, don’t settle for less and most importantly, live life the way You want it.

Mia Von M is an international tattooed model  the first Slovak model to be featured in Inked magazine. Find her here on Facebook. You’ll wanna keep a lookout for this feisty rising star!