Dr Hazel Wallace: ‘You never get over grief, but you grow around it’

Dr Hazel Wallace. Picture: Lydia Collins

I grew up in Dundalk and moved to Wales when I was 18 to study medicine. I have two older sisters and my mum at home. I lost my dad when I was 14. The biggest challenge I've faced in my life so far was that grief as a teenager. It definitely changes you as a person. I don't think you can ever get over grief, but you grow around it. Putting one foot in front of the other, day by day, you just eventually move forward with life and the grief becomes a part of you, but not every part of you.

I decided to go into medicine after I lost my dad. I never thought I'd become a doctor or a nutritionist. I always thought I'd do accountancy or business, I was good at maths and that was what my dad did. But I think it was definitely in the cards for me. I'm a big believer in everything that's meant to be, will be.