Terrible news

I will remember this day for the rest of my life. In the morning we received terrible news of the death of our son’s best friend.

The boys first met at nursery, and continued their friendship as they grew through school together. He was a lovely, warm, cheeky, loving young man - characteristics he shared with his parents and brother, the most good-natured and kindest people you could hope to meet. He was the sort of person who squeezed every drop out of life, and that is exactly what he was doing when this terrible blow landed.

It is truly a tragedy for a young man, who had only just turned twenty one, to be taken away so suddenly. The sense of loss and emptiness is hard to bear, and has been passing over us all in waves. It is difficult to confront the pain his family have to bear - we can offer support, but can’t do anything to take it away. And my heart aches for my son, who has lost such a good friend.

It is said that a single death is a tragedy and a million deaths is a statistic. This news is horrible proof of how raw and awful the grief of that single death can be.

Photo by Elliott Engelmann on Unsplash