For most of us, it is hard to imagine ever being able to deal with a tragedy of that magnitude.

But meeting two mums this week, who have struggled for years to cope after their 18-year-old sons were killed in car crashes nearly 20 years apart, it is amazing to see their strength and determination to live life again.

Lisa Bird, who lost her son Joshua Gough in 2008 following a car crash, is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, but still made time to talk to me about her experience.

“There is no going back to the old you after the loss of a child - an essential part of your life is gone forever,” she told me.

But Lisa still manages to get up every morning, fight her cancer diagnosis, work, and support other mums dealing with road trauma, through her facebook group ‘Bittersweet’ for bereaved parents.

Maureen Armstrong is another Tasmanian mum left behind. Her son Wayne died following a crash in 1990. After not coping for years, she tried everything she could, from electric shock treatment to living in a clinic. Even after all that, she attempted suicide.

But meeting her on Wednesday, she was cheerful and happy to be alive, and she thanks Road Trauma Support Tasmania for that. “They have been helping me, and there came a time that I was able to release myself from the huge burden I had carried.”

It is an amazing thing to achieve, and, according to Maureen, it is all thanks to her trauma counsellor.

It’s a message we want to get out to people struggling with the loss of a child or family member - that there is help available.

Road Trauma Support Tasmania counsellors can be contacted through the website www.roadtraumasupport.org.au, or by phone, 6777 6252 and 0427 487 251.