A LOVE LOST. A LIFE CUT SHORT. 'From the moment I set eyes on him I adored him. The connection between us was so strong it went beyond everything else. His job, my job, his lifestyle, my lifestyle. All that fell away.'

And then one earth-shattering day Christina's worst nightmare came true when Oz was killed on his final day of duty before flying home to his family.

This is Christina and Oz's story: a story about love and loss, hope and despair and of living in constant fear. Christina's extraordinary bravery and composure is an inspiration to anyone who has ever lost someone they love.

Christina is the widow of Staff Sergeant Olaf 'Oz' Schmid GC, of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, who, aged thirty, was killed trying to disarm a suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Afghanistan on 31 October 2009.

Since the death of her husband, Christina has spoken powerfully about a number of issues surrounding the Armed Forces and has presented her own BBC OnePanoramainvestigation into the work of High Threat Bomb Disposal Officers.In May 2010 Christina received the Elizabeth Cross from the Princess Royal, and in June she attended Buckingham Palace and received the George Cross, awarded posthumously to her husband, in a private ceremony with Her Majesty, The Queen.

Christina is a Patron of Tickets For Troops and lives in Hampshire with her son Laird.