A heartbroken brother has shared the last selfie he took with his sister before she took her own life in a moving tribute to her.
Mum-of-one Stephanie Housley, 34, from Stoke-on-Trent, died in Staffordshire on March 11 after a long battle with mental illness.
She had recently returned to work as a carer after a years maternity leave and seemed to be doing better in the time leading up to her death, her brother said.
Simon Housley, 27, is now urging people to spend as much time as possible making memories with their loved ones while they can.
Simon, a finance worker, also from Stoke, wrote on Facebook: There was no warning at all, it was an absolute shock.
Although Stephanie had suffered for depression for the majority of her life no one was expecting this.
Labour MP calls for 'robust action' against neo-Nazi radio station broadcasting in UK
He added that following the birth of her daughter last March, she struggled with post-natal depression but had recently returned to work.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Over the last few months or so whenever I saw her she seemed so much better than she had done, thats why this is such a massive shock to us all, he said.
I took the last photo of us together over Christmas. It shows that no matter how a person appears we have absolutely no idea whats going on in their head.
The brother said coming to terms with the circumstances around his sisters death has been agonising and said he had been consumed by guilt, having grappled with his own personal battle.
He added: There should have been more photos before this one, and there should have been many more to come; but it aptly summarises how we were – enjoying a drink and having a great laugh together.
In this photo you can see two people who look like theyre enjoying life to the full, but unfortunately what you see is two people who have battled their own inner demons for a long, long time.
It is absolutely agonising for me to realise.
His poignant tribute has racked up thousands of likes and shares online where he wrote: The overwhelming feelings for me for the past few days have been regret and guilt.
Although I have struggled with my own personal battle for many years, I feel that I was not there enough when she needed me through the bad moments, and that I also didnt create anywhere near enough happy memories with the wonderful sister I was blessed with.