Letter to mum ‘up in heaven’
A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy wrote a heartbreaking note to his mum telling her he loved her after being told of her death just five weeks before Christmas.
A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy wrote a heartbreaking note to his mum telling her he loved her after being told of her death just five weeks before Christmas.
Jessica Cowdery, 26, from Bridgend, died last month after struggling to cope with bipolar disorder. Her family believe she took her own life.
Ex-partner Christopher Cheung broke the news to their son Leo who, on hearing the news, said he wanted to write a note to his mummy.
He wrote: “To mummy, I love you so much xx from Leo”.
Jessica’s friend Sarah Tristram now wants to raise enough money to send little Leo, who faces his first Christmas without Jessica, to Disneyland as a “last present” from his devoted mum.
Jessica’s mum Elaine Llewellyn, 56, paid tribute to her daughter, who she said was very close to Leo.
She said: “Jessica and Leo were very much like brother and sister. They y would be playing and running around, laughing, playing hide and seek.
“Jessica loved occasions s and with Christmas coming I know she would have been shopping and doing g things like decorating the e house.
“Leo says ‘I miss my y mum.’ The other day he e was walking around in her er slippers.
“The trip would make ke Leo’s Christmas. I don’t ’t think the news has really sunk in but the longer it goes on it will.”
She admitted Jessica’s death was a shock and that she “seemed to be doing better” in the weeks before her death.
Heartbreakingly, after desperately trying to get support for her daughter from professionals for months she was finally given numbers to call on November 22 – the day Jessica died.
Elaine said: “I really do not know what made her take her own life.
“I was crying out for help for her.
“When she was high she was very high but when she was at a low point that would be like the end of the world.
“A woman phoned back with numbers on the day she died.
“I was trying to ring her that morning to tell her we have got somewhere to go.
“I understand mental health is strapped for cash but she should have had a psychiatrist or a mental health worker helping her with this.
“If she had help she probably would still be here.”
Sarah, who knew Jessica for two years and launched the fundraising campaign for Jessica and Leo, said she was a “beautiful person inside and out”.
She added: “Leo was her little boy. He absolutely adores her. I know it’s going to be very hard. She is going to miss out on some of his firsts.
“I want to raise money to help with the funeral costs and to send Leo to Disneyland just after Christmas.
“Leo just thinks his mum is in heaven. He has been writing her little letters saying he misses her and hopes she is having a lovely day.
“I don’t want him to go without. It will be the first Christmas without his mum.
“It could be a little present maybe from his mum – maybe her last present.”
Leo’s dad Christopher said: “It would mean a lot to Leo, more than anything. He would love it. He has never been on holiday before.”
Elaine said the trip would have added significance because Jessica, who used to work as a dental nurse, was worried sh she wouldn’t be able to afford any Christmas presents for Leo.
She said: “Jessica said s she had no money to get L Leo anything. I reminded her we would have plenty for him and she said: ‘Well he won’t have anything from me’.
“This trip would be the b best present.”
To donate visit www. gofundme.com/makeleo-cheungs-christmass special
For confidential support, the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.