LONDON content creator and influencer Misha Grimes has paid a moving Father’s Day tribute to her dad John who died from motor neurone disease in 2021.
Describing John as her ‘hero’ Misha has described how the devastation of losing him when she was just 22 continues to shape her life and led to her becoming an ambassador for the MND Association to support others facing the same diagnosis.
Misha is sharing her story ahead of Global MND Awareness Day which coincides with Father’s Day on 21 June. The MND Association’s theme this year is special days matter – reflecting on the moments which really matter to people with MND and their families.
She said: “My dad, John Grimes, was my hero. I know every daughter thinks that about their dad but for me it was true.
“He was a London boy, born and bred, and he was quite the character!
“As a family, we’d often have fierce debates about which of us was the funniest and it was always dad who came out top dog. Mum, bless her, was always last! I don’t think there is anyone in this world I could ever find as funny as my dad and I will miss that for the rest of my life.
“Dad had several loves in his life, but mainly the three Cs – Chelsea FC, cycling and chocolate. He loved his girls, me, my sister and my mum, Kasha, the love of his life. He was a quantity surveyor which meant that on every trip into London he would spend hours pointing out all the buildings he’d ever worked on. Now he’s gone it feels so special to be able to look out over the city I love and know he played a small part in shaping it.
“Motor neurone disease, or MND for short, came out of nowhere.
“To be honest, I don’t remember an awful lot about the time he was diagnosed – it’s foggy now because it’s still so difficult to think about.
“MND wasn’t something we knew anything about. He’d been experiencing tremors for a while and after multiple visits to the doctors he was diagnosed with fast-progressing MND. On the day he was diagnosed he was one of six people in the UK to receive the same news. He was also told he would have about two years before the disease inevitably took him away from us. But for dad, that wasn’t good enough.
“Whatever MND took away, he fought back harder.
“Whatever part of him he lost the ability to use he focussed on strengthening the parts he could.
“After losing the use of his lower body in that first year, the final six months saw MND take away the use of his upper body and, with it, the ability to care for himself. As a family, we looked after him every day, which was absolutely crushing and beautiful at the same time. We were there to support him just as he had supported us our whole lives.
“On 3 August, 2021, almost exactly two years after he was diagnosed, my wonderful dad died. He was just 59 years old. We were all completely devastated.”
Five years on, Misha has shared how losing her dad at such a young age has made her ‘grateful to be alive’ and determined to make a difference.
She said: “Even though I would do anything to have him back, I have opportunities now that I would never have thought possible. I’m an ambassador for the MND Association, using my voice to help raise awareness of this devastating disease and support others facing the same diagnosis. I’ve also started my own online grief community JustGrieve which has more than 20,000 members. I was always determined to turn my grief into purpose and bring together other young people so nobody has to feel alone when facing the hardest time of their lives.
“I think he’d be proud that my smile is genuine. He wouldn’t believe the person I’ve become, the woman I’ve grown into… or maybe he always knew it was in me. “Maybe he always knew I’d be okay.
“My favourite memories of dad and the special days we spent together are all now saved in a list on my phone.
“I never, ever want to forget them and I never want the story of him to fade.”
