Myself and Jo had been together for 13 years (a number that has come up repeatedly). We married in 2015 and our beautiful Son was born on 13th February 2017. We were one of the lucky ones, we met each other young, had experienced so much, grew together and were blessed with our beautiful Son which absolutely filled our hearts beyond belief. Towards the end of 2020 amongst all the doom and gloom of covid we had the wonderful news that baby number 2 was on its way and we couldn’t have been happier. Our Son probably won the top spot for excitement, itching to be a big brother, or “big brudda’ as he pronounced at the time!

On the 25th March 2021 our worlds were tipped upside down and changed forever. At a point where we were on the cusp of completing our family unit with so many good times ahead, the worst happened. Within a few hours of experiencing a ‘pain’ we completely unexpectedly lost Jo and our unborn baby. From this moment I was faced with the task of going to deliver the news to our 4 year old Son that Mummy & baby had died. We began on the path of navigating through the tough times ahead, whilst trying to simultaneously piece together our healing and ‘new life’ whilst keeping our memories of Jo fresh in our minds and part of our lives.

The aim of HisGrief is to provide a story with the perspective of hope to others out there experiencing their own battles. Hopefully you will see no matter how dark it currently seems that it can and will change if you keep on keeping on. I want to address the stigma around acknowledging grief and mental health, specifically male grief and mental health and the various ways that helped me improve my, and in turn my Son’s, own mental wellness. Alongside creating awareness from our lived experience for those who are trying to support others in their lives if they’re struggling.

‘Just keep going, keep on keeping on, it will change’