Former TOWIEstar Kirk Norcross has spoken for the first time about the death of his dad Mick Norcross.
Sugar Hut owner Mick was found dead at his home in Essex in January, with Essex Police confirming his death was not being treated as suspicious. The 57 year old passed away after sending a haunting message on Twitter that read, "At the end remind yourself that you did the best you could. And that is good enough."
After grieving privately, Kirk took to Instagram stories on a new account to open up about the events surrounding the tragic time. He revealed that he was the one who found his dad and now suffers with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
Kirk, 33, began, “I haven’t told no one this, only like my friends and family know. I don’t know why I’m telling Instagram, really. It’s not for a sob story. I don’t want no special treatment or anything.
“It weren’t nice. There was no saving him but I cut him down and tried to give him CPR. I don’t take anything away from my old man for doing that, you know. I’d rather do that than some stranger find him. It just eats me up.
“It’s a bit hard to deal with, but I am. I don’t know why I’m telling Instagram. I just thought… I’ve got a lot of pressure on my shoulders lately. I feel good. I’m being a good man for my dad. I feel a lot better already, just a bit of weight off my shoulders, you know.”
Kirk, who has a daughter named Violett and a son, Harry, explained that he wants to “be the man my dad wanted to be”.
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He continued, “I used to do stuff to impress other people and now I’m doing stuff to impress myself. It’s just a bad couple of days I’m having – and it’s normal.
"It’s just normal. Just a bit hard to deal with. I was really close to my dad and to find someone how I found him… it is what it is.
“It’s life, though. It does make you or break you. It’s going to make me, I know it will. Just got to get up and just be the man my dad wanted me to be. That’s all I can do.”
Kirk stepped away from the media spotlight in 2016, forging a new career and setting up KN Jet Services in Essex, a jet-washing and drain-cleaning company, admitted that he has been suffering with PTSD.
“Obviously that’s why I’ve just been diagnosed with PTSD,” he said.
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“I’ve been having this pain where I feel like my throat is closing up and I can’t swallow. It’s not life, is it? This shouldn’t happen to people.
"But it’s my life and it’s what I’ve got to do. And I feel better for talking.”
After receiving a flood of support, he later thanked his followers for their supportive messages, “I love you all. I respect all of you. The messages have taken me off my feet a little bit. The love has been unreal guys.”
If you have been affected by the issues in this article, you can contact Samaritans**** https://www.samaritans.org/**** or call them for free at 116 123.