WHERE'S THE JUSTICE?

After her sister was killed, Louisa Smith, 38, vowed she would never stop fighting for change

-  FIONA KINLOCH

Blowing on my nails, I extended my arm to assess my manicure.‘That suits you,’ my big sister, Vicky, then 38, grinned. It was September 2018 and, Vicky, her wife, Naomi, 44, and our mum, Wendy, 63, were enjoying a spa day.

We’d lost my dad, Michael, 64, to leukemia that May, and his passing had taken a devastating toll on all of us. Adjusting to life without him had been so hard, and Vicky and I had found ourselves rallying around Mum, to make sure she was OK. That’s why we’d suggested a pamper day – it was what we all needed.

For Vicky in particular, it was a chance to relax, ahead of doing a charity skydive later that week to raise money for the hospice that had cared for Dad.

Kind acts like this were typical of my sister. Growing up, while I’d been into a ballet, Vicky just wanted to help people.

When Vicky was 18, she joined the Ambulance Service and she became a senior paramedic for the East of England Ambulance Service when she was 22.

When she married Naomi in November 2012, I was so happy for her. I looked up to Vicky and felt so proud of the woman she was.

And now, as she told us how excited she was about the skydive, I couldn’t help thinking how proud our dad would be, too.

‘I hope you’ll all be waiting for me as I land,’ Vicky said.

‘Of course, we will, you’ll hear our cheers from the plane,’ I promised.

Only, two days after our spa visit, I answered a panicked phone call from Mum. ‘Vicky hasn’t rung to say she’s back from lunch with her friend,’ she fretted. ‘She always calls.’