BYE BYE DAD.. BYE BYE MAMMY
Devoted parents die within weeks leaving three children as orphans
A BRAVE mum has lost her battle with cancer – weeks after her husband died from the disease.
Karen Stewart, 36, passed away on Friday leaving her and tragic Ed’s three children orphaned. They will now be looked after by family.
Close pal Maureen O’halloran said: “Ed was waiting for her. He’ll mind her now, he’ll take care of her.”
THREE young children have been left orphaned after both their parents died of cancer just 10 weeks apart.
Brave Karen Stewart, 36, lost her battle with the disease on Friday after going through the heartache of recently burying her husband Ed.
He passed away at a Dublin hospice in August aged 42 – three months after he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
The couple leave behind three beautiful children Keeva, 10, Finn, eight, and four-year-old Erin.
They will now move in with Ed’s brother Vincent and his wife Tanya, along with their three children.
Close friend Maureen O’halloran told the Irish Mirror: “Karen died peacefully, at her mother’s home, surrounded by her family including her six sisters.
“I don’t think anybody can believe that she lasted as long as she did because she shouldn’t have.
“She literally wouldn’t give up. She clung on for her kids, but she went downhill after she lost Ed.”
Maureen, who lives in the UK, visited Karen last month and said her friend refused to acknowledge how ill she was.
She said: “She told me she wasn’t ready to go. We had a great day together, the stupid things we laughed at...
“Her and Ed, they were a team, everything they did was for their kids.
“We set up a fund and Karen asked me to keep it going for the children after she was gone.
DEVOTED
“I’m not sure the youngest understands because she’s only four, but the other two, how can they get over this?
“First they lost their dad, and now they have lost their mum. Can you imagine what they are going through?
“The family will protect them and surround them with as much love as possible.”
Devoted mum Karen battled cancer three times, having first been diagnosed with neuroblastoma when she was just 20.
She lived clear of cancer after chemotherapy but the disease returned when she was 32, just months after she gave birth to her youngest daughter.
Karen once more fought a brave battle but the cancer returned for a third time in January this year and doctors told her it was incurable.
Husband Ed, who was her carer, began to feel unwell at the start of the year and was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer on May 12. He died exactly 12 weeks later.
Friends and family will say their last private goodbyes to Karen at the family home in Dublin this evening.
She will be buried at Fingal Cemetery tomorrow after 11am funeral Mass at the Church of Our Lady Immaculate in Darndale.
A tearful Maureen said: “Ed was waiting for her. He really wanted her to join him. He’ll mind her now, he’ll take care of her.”
Karen clung on for kids but went downhill after she lost Ed MAUREEN O’HALLORAN CLOSE FRIEND