Nouna Gina - 18 Years On

Another memorial is upon myself and my family.Tomorrow will be eighteen years since my Nouna (Godmother in Greek) Gina passed away. Eighteen years.

Nouna was mum to my cousins Despina and Georgie. She was also wife to my Dada (Godfather in Greek) Pan.

I was five years old when she died so my memories of her are pretty hazy. I remember she called us all cheeky monkeys a lot and I have lots of photos that show her bathing me etc…. so I know she was a great godmother and aunt.

Nouna Gina died very suddenly, without much warning. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. Despina was nine at time and Georgie a little older then one. I think her death will always be one of the most tragic events of my life. A very very sad waste of a young life.

Myself and my sister Nikki were raised very closely with Despina and Georgie. Later their brother Louis and our sisters Zoe and Sophia joined us and we all retained the closeness. They are all extra brothers and sisters to me and they always will be.

Despina is an amazing young woman. To have been dealt such cruel blows in life is horrific but she continues to show strength and dignity in her grief. She recently got engaged to her partner Tom; a very very happy event that caused much ecstatic screaming from myself and our Yiayia when we found out. She deserves her happiness and I sincerely hope that wherever they are, her mum and her brother can see her and join in with her joy. Despina and I can annoy each other and we rarely see each other at the moment (she’s in Surrey and I’m in Essex) but the bond we shared through childhood to the present day will always remain strong and she is one of the first people I run to when I am upset or happy.

Days like this one highlight why it is so important to do the volunteer work that I do. It’s not only a tribute to the six relatives I have had to say goodbye to. It’s also a way of me helping to prevent having to go through it again with another relative. As a family we have been blighted by cancer enough and I can’t bear the idea of going through it all again. I also want to protect my family who have been through so much already.

As for my Nouna, I sincerely hope she has been reunited with Georgie somehow and they are getting to know each other after so many years apart. I also hope she can see what an incredible young woman her daughter is.

RIP Nouna xxxx