GRIEVING DAUGHTER’S PLEA AS #localandproud MUM DIES THE DAY BEFORE SHE INTENDED TO GET TREATMENT FOR HER HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Get yourself a monitor, says Alison after ‘wonderful’ mum passes away after stroke
A GRIEVING daughter is highlighting the importance of blood pressure checks after the death of her ‘wonderful’ mum.
Alison Nicklin found her 80-yearold mum dead in bed this year after she had passed away suddenly following a stroke. Ann Copeland was living with high blood pressure and had been scheduled to see a doctor about the condition the next day.
Now community carer Alison wants to make people aware of hometesting kits to monitor hypertension, which can cost as little as £10 and most pharmacies offer free of charge.
Untreated high blood pressure can lead to several life-threatening conditions, including heart attacks and strokes.
Alison, aged 50, said: “There should be a lot more emphasis on people actually being responsible for tracking their blood pressure and the bad things that can happen with hypertension. People don’t talk about it enough.
“My mum had high blood pressure and the day after she passed away she was going to see about getting treatment for it. When mum died, she was a good age.
“A couple of days before she passed away she developed this terrible sharp pain that went up her back. She’d had sciatica before so we naturally assumed it was that.
“The following day, I was trying to get hold of my mum. I spoke to a neighbour and she went around to my mum’s house and it was all locked up. My gut instinct told me something was wrong. I went over, let myself in, and I found her sleeping peacefully. The postmortem examination has indicated that the hypertension caused a big bleed to the brain.”
Gran-of-six Ann grew up in Bucknall, was educated in Carmountside, and worked in a potbank as a lithographer straight from school. She found faith after her ‘soulmate’ Derek died and was living in Brown Lees when she died.
Alison added: “She was a wonderful lady. She had the most infectious laugh and smile. She made anybody who came into contact with her feel at ease. She had a heart of gold and was the most loving and caring person. I was blessed that she was my mum.”
Now Alison is taking on an exercise challenge for the Stroke Association as well as spreading the word about blood pressure tests.
She added: “Every day in
May I’m going to be doing 31 minutes of exercise to raise money for the Stroke Association. For me, it’s not just about raising the money, it’s more about getting the word out there for people to buy a blood pressure machine.
“It’s the best £10 that could be spent. If people don’t have a spare £10, they can have their blood pressure checked for free at the
chemist.”