Kimberley
Our daughter, Kimberley aged 17, had been battling leukaemia for months. We were desperately hoping a bone marrow transplant would save her life. Her sister Amanda, 15, travelled to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and donated the bone marrow.
Doctors were hoping to carry out the transplant at noon that day but Kimberley died at 11.30am just 30 minutes before she was due to receive the potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant from her sister. She became very ill that morning and was taken into intensive care at 8am but Kimberley was just too ill to go on. It came down to a matter of hours at the end but there was nothing they could do.
We were hoping the bone marrow would save her. They told us there was a 60 per cent chance it would fail but we wanted to take that chance.
Kimberley’s 13-year-old brother Stuart was also tested for his bone marrow but we thought Amanda’s bone marrow would be a good match because there is only about 18 months between the girls. We never got the chance to find out.
Kimberley died from pneumonia brought on by the effects of renal failure and acute myeloid leukaemia. Kimberley was very ill and we knew a few weeks beforehand that things may not work out but we wanted to go for the bone marrow to see if that would help.
Kimberley fought the illness so bravely. She was diagnosed in November with leukaemia and went to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where the treatment began. She was home for Christmas then she went back to hospital. She was transferred to Birmingham in February.
Kimberley was working as an animal care student at Walford and North Shropshire College. We, her family are absolutely devastated by her loss. Kimberley’s funeral was held on March 10 and people attending were asked to wear Liverpool colours as Kimberley was a big fan of the club.
