Hi! 👋🏽 My name’s Kelly - I’m 25 years old from Sydney, Australia and study a bachelor of occupational therapy at uni. I’m currently in my 3rd year of study and have a lot of support & love from my Mum, my family, my boyfriend and my friends. I don’t only have their support with my studies, but have their support in helping me move forward with grief after losing my Dad. My Dad’s name is Mark. I lost him 4 years ago to stage 4 liver cancer - he had skin cancer twice in his lifetime & bowel cancer prior to passing away from liver cancer. He was a ripe age of 50 when he left us, I was 21 years old when I lost my first love & best friend, and my brothers were 22 and 9 years old when they lost their right hand man. My Dad was the most gentle, loving and hardworking man I had ever met. My boyfriend (Josh) had only met him a handful of times before he passed, and he still remembers him as the most humble man he had ever met (and the only Penrith Panthers supporter he actually tolerates). I joined the Untangle Grief community to embrace my own journey of grief, to learn more about grief and to reach a community of individuals experiencing what I do everyday. To me, grief is one of the biggest oxymorons in my life - I see it as something that’s both debilitating and empowering. It’s empowering because the emotion of it is a product of love and loss, but everything I do in life is powered by love. It’s debilitating because I at times feel so alone and numb about the fact my life has continued without my Dad. I at times think that Josh or my friends will get rid of me because of it - because I am broken and complex. But learning about grief and embracing this oxymoron is so important to me. I’m happy to be here 🤍

Posted by Kelly Simmons at 2022-08-09 02:53:06 UTC