Many of you will know that at the age of 15 I tragically lost my Mum, aged 45. What some of you may not know is that we battled for years prior to losing her, to alcohol.

Mum wasn’t the first and hasn’t been the last time I’ve been affected by alcohol as 18 months prior to losing Mum, I also lost my beautiful Auntie Julie, Mum’s beloved sister. My cousins, only aged 8 & 9.

A year ago, my in-laws also tragically lost a dear family member too, a Mum, Daughter, Sister & Auntie. A heartbreaking time for everyone affected.

Losing my mum at the age I was, is something that I’ve struggled with daily and continue to struggle with. Still asking myself questions I’ll never get answers to, constantly wondering “what if”, forever thinking there might have been something I could’ve done differently, and she might still be with us, feeling responsible for losing her.

And the biggest of all, thinking about all the things she’s missed out on and will continue to miss out on.

I never knew there were platforms such as Nacoa out there available, and absolutely would’ve benefited from having that support during the difficulties I went through by being able to talk to someone about it, know of other people who have been/going through the same that I was.

Knowing there are these support systems out there to help those in their time of need, for them to be heard and made to feel safe, really has made me want to contribute to helping more people who need services like Nacoa.

In light of this, I am attempting to do my first ever running event, the Edwinstowe Christmas 10k - to raise money for Nacoa.

Any donation, no matter how big or small would be greatly appreciated, and just know that your donation will contribute to the help of millions of children in the UK, living with parental alcohol problems.