The eldest daughter of a Lanarkshire family has now become the legal guardian of her younger siblings following the tragic death of her dad, step-dad and now mum.
Dayna Talbot, 27, shared how the loss of her 51-year-old mum at the beginning of this year now leaves her and her younger siblings orphans as they try to navigate a world without her.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, Dayna from Gartcosh shared how death has rippled through her family, with her and brother James, 20, – who is deaf – losing their dad in 2008 after he tragically choked in his sleep. Their mum Mandy McEwan went on to remarry. However, she tragically lost her partner and father to her youngest children Erin, now 14, and Aiden, now 11, to cancer in 2021.
Again, this year the young family’s world “flipped upside down” when mum Mandy – who was also a “beloved” nana, daughter, sister and friend – died on January 2 after deteriorating following admission to hospital for pneumonia.
Dayna and her mum on her wedding day
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 added that 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 that she was shocked to discover her mum had no life insurance. It turns out she had to cancel monthly payments following the death of her husband in 2021, unbeknown to Dayna – leaving the young family 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 – as they also search for any support available to them.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, 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”.
The 27-year-old added: “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”.
Happier times at mum Mandy’s wedding
Dayna and her three younger siblings are now hoping to save their family home by having brother James, 20, re-mortgage the house. This means youngsters Erin and Aiden won’t be “split-up, moved school or away from friends”.
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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 GoFundMe please click here.
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