GoFund Mum - Help us to create cherished memories

Hello, my name is Ashleigh and I have set up this fundraising page for my much-loved mum, Sharon, who was diagnosed with a rare and terminal illness called Motor Neurone Disease (ALS) back in May 2021. We would be truly grateful if you could read my mum's story <3

-

My mum has spent most of her life in and out of hospitals after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis when she was just 13 years old. She has had operations to both of her knees (at the ages of 14 and 15), and has since had both of her hips replaced. Before mum had any of these operations, she was in agony all of the time and was practically housebound. She has still had a lot of pain throughout her life, emotionally as well as physically.

Back in 2019, my mum lost her partner and soulmate very suddenly on January 9th 2019. My mum had travelled to his home that day after not hearing from him that morning and felt something was wrong. She went into his home and found him passed away in bed. This was an absolutely destroying time for mum, who was extremely depressed and very quickly began to lose a lot of weight. From then on, mums health began to decline even further. It began with pain in her left shoulder which she hadn’t really experienced before, and the Doctors thought it was just down to mum's Arthritis. However, she was starting to lose the ability to use her left arm. She then began to lose her breath doing very minor tasks around the house and she always had constant migraines. Mum was in and out of the doctor's surgery and hospitals but they couldn’t put her symptoms down to anything in particular apart from the fact she had lost a lot of weight.

On the 7th of April 2021, I went to visit mum and found that she was hallucinating and having trouble breathing, I checked her SATs immediately and her oxygen levels were at 60. I called for an ambulance immediately and they came and rushed her to Bournemouth hospital in the Intensive care unit. Mum was put into an induced coma for almost a week and we found out that it was touch and go for a while. She also had a tracheostomy, a surgical opening made in her throat to allow air to flow through her windpipe as she was unable to breathe on her own. This was when we hadn’t long had our third covid lockdown so visiting was restricted at this time.

Mum was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (ALS) on the 18th of May 2021. Mum was given a prognosis of 6-12 months to live. Mum has thankfully exceeded that, however, it is unknown when that day may come. She requires daily support and needs a ventilator 24/7. MND is a horrible and rare disease which significantly shortens life span and affects the brain and nerves, which leads to muscle wastage and then total paralysis. Mum didn’t want to know her prognosis and couldn’t accept her diagnosis for a long while. Unfortunately, MND usually affects people’s limbs first, but in mums case, it has affected her breathing muscles first and she is now in lung failure.

So, I have set up this page for mum as she has struggled to do most normal things for her entire life, and then also bringing myself and my brother up on her own for many years, whilst combatting her own physical health. She has had some really bad luck over her life and I really want to help her to fulfil at least some of her last wishes and make them come true. Mum has always been a caring, loving person who gives so much to others. Having worked for the NHS for 7 years and also as a carer for many other years, it’s in her nature to help others.

I felt that this is the best and the last thing I can now do for mum, considering everything she has been through and the fact she has never asked for anything in return. She is such a fighter and says she will fight until the very end, she’s definitely fighting already. So, this is where any donations, big or small, will help my mum and our family to carry out her final wishes and to create cherished memories together that our family will always remember and be eternally grateful for <3

P.S- I will be creating a Facebook page to share all of our memories made <3