1 in 7 people will lose a parent by the age of 30.

In July 2025, I became one of them, losing my Dad suddenly and unexpectedly, just three days after my 27th birthday.

On July 9th, the day after my birthday, I got a phone call that changed my life forever.

While at work that afternoon, my dad suffered a catastrophic intracerebral haemorrhage: a brain bleed so severe there was nothing that could be done to save him.

They gave him hours. He lasted the best part of two days.

He was only 48.

Losing a parent at this age isn’t something you ever expect. You grow up assuming there will be more time - more years, more conversations, more moments you haven’t had yet.

Instead, you’re left feeling like that time has been taken from you. Like something you were supposed to have has been cut short.

It’s hard not to notice it too, watching friends and peers older than you still have their parents there for the big and small moments, while you’re learning to navigate life without yours.

There are so many milestones he won’t get to see. And there’s something deeply unfair about losing the person who brought you into the world, while you’re still in the middle of becoming who you’re meant to be.

I think one of the hardest parts for me is how suddenly we lost him. There was no time to prepare.

I entered that hospital with the knowledge there was no hope, that there was only one outcome at the end of this.

Now, as we approach the first anniversary of his passing, I’m still trying to make sense of it all, learning how to live with a loss that has changed my life forever. While still showing up every day in the ways I’m expected to.

This August, I’m running the Scottish Half Marathon in memory of my Dad, and to raise money for It’s Time, a small charity that supports young adults aged 16–30 who have lost a parent.

They support people navigating a kind of grief that can feel incredibly isolating at this age - helping young people feel less alone in something that’s so hard to put into words.

Every donation is so appreciated. This is a huge challenge for me, but I’m determined to do it, for my Dad and for myself.

Because the best way to honour my Dad is to look after his daughter 💙💫

Forever missed. Forever loved. Forever 48