A woman has become the legal guardian of her younger siblings following the tragic death of their mum.
Dayna Talbot, 27, has been left heartbroken after Mandy McEwan passed away aged just 51 on January 2. Dayna, from Gartcosh in Lanarkshire, shared how death has rippled through her family after her and her brother James, 20, lost their dad in 2008 when he tragically choked in his sleep.
Mandy went on to remarry but lost her partner and father to her youngest children Erin, now 14, and Aiden, 11, to cancer in 2021. The young family’s world was once again “flipped upside down” when Mandy died on January 2 after deteriorating following admission to hospital for pneumonia.
Dayna – who became a mum herself in August 2024 – said she is “heartbroken” as she tries to “navigate motherhood” without Mandy and says she will “forever miss” their four hour long phone calls. She said her mum “couldn’t wait” to get a bit of normality back once she was home from hospital and start her new role as nana.
The self-employed hairdresser told Glasgow Live she was also shocked to discover her mum had no life insurance after she had to cancel monthly payments following the death of her husband. The young family have been left in great difficulty financially and fighting to save their family home in Moodiesburn.
A GoFundMe has now been created for the children in a bid to relieve any financial stress while trying to arrange their mum’s funeral and hold onto their family home. Dayna said: “Mum was admitted to hospital with pneumonia and she was in for around six weeks – they told us she was getting better and after physio she’d be able to come home.
“But next minute, on Boxing Day she was admitted to ICU. Days later on January 2 she died – they say it was cognitive cardiac failure that killed her in the end.
“We didn’t find out until after she passed that she didn’t have any life insurance – turns out she couldn’t keep up with the monthly payments after my step-dad died as she had to cut down her working hours to be there for the kids.”
Dayna and her three younger siblings are now hoping to save their family home by having James re-mortgage the house. This means youngsters Erin and Aiden won’t be “split-up, moved school or away from friends”.
The young mum-of-one went on to share a touching tribute: “As a family I don’t even think we could begin to explain how heartbroken and devastated we are. Our mum was loving, caring and fun and so loved by her friends and family.
“She wasn’t just our mum she was our best friend and confidante, she always assured us that no matter what problems we had we could always turn to her for help and advice. I’m going to miss our four hour long phone calls putting the world to rights and her listening to all my moans and groans.
“She was always up for a laugh and carry on, we would hear music blasting from the living room and go down stairs to see what was happening and find her in darkness dancing with her new ‘glow in the dark’ cups. She couldn’t wait to get out of hospital and get her life back to begin her new role as nana, it breaks my heart knowing I’ll be navigating motherhood without mine.
“She was a beloved mum, nana, daughter and sister and we will forever hold her in our hearts. No words will ever be able to describe how much she will be missed.”
To donate to the family’s GoFundMeclick here.
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