Lucy’s story
Lucy and Liam
Lucy speaks about her brother’s unexpected death and how fundraising in his memory has helped her cope over the years.
Lucy was 17 when her older brother Liam died aged 22. He had been backpacking in Australia for nine months when he died from an aortic dissection caused by Marfan Syndrome, a condition Liam never knew he had.
“At the time, we were learning why he died so unexpectedly from a completely new condition that we didn’t know he had. He was enjoying life on the other side of the world and time stood still.
“My mam and dad were navigating grieving Liam’s loss, all of us in our own way trying to remain strong. I was doing my nurse training and trying to stay focused, it helped at the time.”
A decade after Liam died, Lucy took part in 10 events to mark Liam’s death and raise money for charity.
“It felt good to remember Liam by raising money. My coping mechanism at the time was to talk, but also to raise money, and I did a lot of charity work.”
Lucy has raised an incredible £100,000.
This year, Liam would be 40 and Lucy plans to continue to raise money and raise awareness of Sibling Support.
She said: “A lot of my close friends are also turning 40 too, many of whom knew Liam. It’s quite difficult because I am planning stuff for them to celebrate but I don’t want to forget Liam’s year - it feels that he has been robbed of many birthdays.’’
Lucy has set herself a goal of completing 40 different events between November 2023 and November 2024. She has already completed two events, including a 13.1 mile Remembrance Day run in Durham.
Lucy says she has found fundraising in Liam’s memory a way of coping with her own grief:
“My initial way of coping was to throw myself into raising awareness and raising money for charity as well as continuing to succeed in my career. Doing events and raising money helped me to have focus and fill some of the void that Liam had left behind.
“Liam was a popular guy – people looked up to him… literally (he was taller than 6ft 7). I was always proud he was my brother. By raising awareness, I think it made me feel I was helping others if they were walking about with Marfan syndrome undiagnosed and trying to somehow make Liam’s death not in vain.“
Lucy said that although she was fundraising lots, she didn’t face the grief of losing her brother soon enough.
She has this advice for anyone who is grieving the death of their sibling:
“If help is offered take it, and in your own time speak about your worries, thoughts, and feelings. Talk, talking helps. I was lucky enough to have amazing parents, friends and family. Without them I worry how I would have coped.”
“Raising awareness or money to help charities might give you a focus - it was a great way to help me!
“I wanted to do Liam proud, I was proud he was my brother and I sincerely hope he knew that.”
Lucy is aiming to raise £1000 for Sibling Support this year. If you’d like to support Lucy’s year of fundraising you can donate here.
