Beloved Channel 7 host opens up about “horrendous” family tragedy
Sydney Weekender’s Mel Symons has opened up about losing her mother, Robyn, as she strives to raise awareness for fall prevention during April Falls Month.
Mel’s mother lost her life to a sudden and tragic fall while staying with Mel’s family six years ago, after moving in to help Mel with her then-six-month-old daughter, Alexandra.
And it was while speaking to 7Life that the TV presenter shed new light on what transpired, as well as how life had been for the devastated family in the wake of their loss.
“We had a really lovely dinner together, and a big chat,” Mel explained, before going on to describe how everyone had then made their way to the home’s top storey to wind down for the night and get ready for bed.
“We were saying our goodnights and cleaning our teeth,” she said, “and then I just heard this terrible noise.”
From there, the unimaginable had played out for the family, with Mel finding her mother at the bottom of the stairs. They had rushed Robyn to hospital in search of help, but unfortunately, she passed away.
Following the tragedy, the family did not return to the home.
“The next couple of years actually were a succession of moving around trying to find somewhere to live while trying to deal with losing mum, the PTSD from the accident, [and] looking after a baby while paying respect to mum’s possessions,” Mel noted.
And it’s that same baby - now-six-year-old Alexandria - who gives Mel some comfort, with the host explaining that she sees a lot of the late Robyn in her daughter.
“My daughter is really connected to my mum,” Mel says, before mentioning that Alexandira had even had her middle name changed to ‘Robyn’ in honour of her grandmother. “She says things sometimes and I feel like my mum is talking to me.
“So she’s genuinely like my mum in some ways, which is beautiful. That keeps the memory alive because I see my mum in her.
“She even wanted to celebrate her grandma’s birthday and make it a special occasion, rather than something that we would be upset about.”
The 48-year-old noted that it was actually Alexandria who gave her the push she needed to talk about her mother, detailing how it was Alexandria who told her to “focus on how you can help other people, mum, because that’s what we want to do so that they don’t lose their mum or grandma.”
Mel added that in her years of reflection, she has come to the realisation that people can’t live in the past, as it’ll “ruin or destroy” them, and that it’s important to find the good things in life and to focus on them instead.
And now, she spends her time following her mother’s footsteps to spread her message as an advocate, describing how “she [Robyn] devoted her life to working for charities as her career, as a fundraising manager for the Hear and Say Centre, who raise funds for cochlear implants for hearing-impaired children.”
For now, however, Mel wants to raise as much awareness as she can for fall prevention and to “try to make some positive changes for the future” - something that she believes Robyn would have wanted.
“I’m hoping that out of this horrendous situation that happened with my mum, and certainly years of grief, trauma and PTSD, that we can potentially make a difference,” she explained.
“There is also a focus on exercising regularly and improving balance,” Mel added, while stressing that falls do not only impact the elderly, despite common misconceptions. “So, just with regular exercise, there is a 23 per cent reduction in falls.
“I think a lot of younger people don’t realise that it’s so prevalent and it’s not older people that just fall down, it can happen to anyone. Ever since mum died, I can’t believe the amount of times I’ve heard of people falling.
“Falls are Australia’s number one cause of injuries, hospitalisations and deaths, representing 42 per cent of injury hospitalisations and 40 per cent of injury deaths.”
To learn more about April Falls Month, head to their website.
Images: Instagram