A devastated family may have to fork out a large fee to find out why a "caring and compassionate" young woman suddenly died.
Anna Graves' grief-stricken relatives are desperate for answers as the 21-year-old went from a "healthy" state to rapidly experiencing a spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage - a bleed in the brain.
Her 25-year-old sister Emily Paige said: “It was so heavy that it caused her to have a massive stroke, and her brain stem was so pressurised Anna became effectively brain dead."
Emily, her parents, grandma, and Anna’s fiancé were all present in the hospital when the heartbreaking decision was made to turn off Anna’s life support, and she sadly passed away last month. Emily, a business owner from Leeds, added: "It was the hardest, most devastating thing we have ever had to do,. Knowing I would never speak to her again broke my heart."
The hospital may not be able to give Emily and her family an explanation as to why Anna died so suddenly. This would leave the family facing a huge bill to pay for a private post mortem. The information would give the family closure, Emily told Yorkshire Live.
Emily continued: "Anna and I became very close - particularly as we got older. We called daily, we enjoyed meals - we shared a love of Thai food - and shopping together. We spent hours on the phone gossiping and talking rubbish, just laughing together. We had so many private jokes that we would share.
"She was a caring, compassionate person who cared deeply for her family and close friends as well as her clients who she worked with. She was always there for her friends in their time of need and offered good advice and a shoulder to cry on. Anna often would take on too much as she didn’t like to let people down. Her kindness was unmatched and wouldn’t see anyone go without even to her own detriment. She loved her family and fiancé very much.
"She was so full of life, helped so many in her short 21 years on earth, she worked closely with end-of-life patients to give them round-the-clock care at home and made close bonds with their families. I will miss her so much. She became my best friend."
Emily set up a GoFundMe page in the aftermath of Anna’s death, in order to help the family to cover the cost of her funeral, which they estimate will be around £7,000.
So far £5,600 of the £5,000 fundraising target has been raised. Emily said: “We are so grateful for all the help and support provided from our friends and family so far. We are completely blown away by people’s kindness and generosity. It’s been a really devastating time for us all and this help has taken away the stress which would have come from struggling to give Anna the send off she really deserved.”
Any leftover money will be donated to the NHS neurology specialist ward in Hull, where Anna was cared for in the final hours of her life. To find out more information about the GoFundMe for Anna and to donate, click here.