By Jenna Cairney

THE FAMILY of a hard-working young doctor, who loved children, have spoken of their numbness after she died unexpectedly at her Dundee home.

Dr Fiona Christie (27) died last Friday at her home in the Dudhope area of the city and was found by her younger brother David (25).

Although cause of death has not yet been established, it is believed that Ms Christie died of natural causes.

The young doctor had been suffering from health problems and had recently been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

Although she had taken a bad turn last Thursday, her death came as a complete shock to her devastated family.

Fiona would have celebrated her 28th birthday in June and was due to sit a clinical exam in Belfast next month.

Speaking from the family home in Brechin last night, her mother Helen Christie said Fiona was “greatly loved by the whole family.”

Ms Christie grew up in Brechin and attended Maisondieu Primary School and Brechin High School.

From childhood she had proudly declared to friends and family that she would be a doctor and she would help children—a dream she fulfilled by going to study medicine in Aberdeen.

She had been working as a senior house officer in paediatrics in Kirkcaldy.

Mrs Christie said, “I know people who have had their kids and babies at her work and I’ve only heard good reports—they all wanted to go back to her. She was such a caring professional.

“Fiona was a happy person with lots of friends who will all miss her. Trying to get through her phonebook on her phone has been a difficult task.

“We’ve been in this area since our children were born and we’ve had so many cards and flowers from all the neighbours, she was so well liked.

“She has friends all over the place, in Aberdeen, Ireland and England—all of them are hoping to come to the funeral.

“We’re just hoping the results of the post mortem come in this week—it would be really hard to have to wait another weekend to make funeral arrangements.

“We are just numb at the moment. We are in complete limbo. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet and I don’t think it will for a while,” she continued.

“The fact she didn’t live with us means we aren’t expecting her to walk through the door at night but I think that’s going to mean it will take us longer to realise she’s not here.”

Ms Christie had also worked in Inverness, Dumfries, Livingston, Edinburgh and Dundee.

She liked music and was about to start playing the flute again. She loved cooking and going to the cinema.

Ms Christie recently spent time in Swaziland, southern Africa, with her brother David at a home for abused children where he had been working.

David said, “She had a great time with the children who took to her very quickly.

“The kids had had a great impact on her and she had raised money through her work at Christmas for the girls.”