COURTNEY Best-Read vividly recalls the night the police knocked on her family’s door to tell them the tragic news that her dad had died.
Even after 13 years, the passing of her father Darren from a heart attack at just 42 years old is fresh, although the family is taking action to raise money for the Heart Foundation.
“I remember my sister Billie-Lee waking me up and telling me our father had died and I told her it wasn’t nice to lie,” she said.
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READ NOW“There were two police officers at our house telling us he had a heart attack but we didn’t believe what they were saying so we called my grandparents where he was staying and they confirmed it.
“He wasn’t an alcoholic and or a smoker so we were in shock.
“The pain we felt was unbearable but we’ve to learned to live with it.”
The Belmont sisters Miss Best-Read and Billie-Lee, and their mother Margaret from Carlisle, are taking part in the HBF Run for a Reason in the 4km course on May 27.
Miss Best-Read is now a registered nurse after realising she needed to take positive action after the tragic event.
“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse but this spurred me on because it meant I could help save lives,” she said.
“I even got to perform CPR when I was prac and I had to call my mum and my sister to tell them what happened.
“I want to work in cardiology or with the Royal Flying Doctors, I just want to be someone who helps another life.”
The trio will wear Arsenal jerseys to honour Darren, who was an avid fan of the English Premier League club.
“He just loved Arsenal, if he couldn’t access the game on TV then he would listen on the radio and we used to hear him celebrating when they scored,” she said.
“I watched a friend cross the HBF Run for a Reason finishing line last year and I decided there and then that I would do it with my family in 2018,” Courtney said.
“Now, we have made a pact to do it every year, wearing Heart Foundation caps and Arsenal football tops in memory of Dad.”
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