Heartbroken mum pays tribute to ‘warrior’ son
THE mother of a Bristol student will pick up his diploma on Thursday in a poignant ceremony – after he completed his degree just weeks before succumbing to cancer. Gea Llewelyn will represent her son Drew, who died in May after a seven-year battle with debilitating illness. Drew was a third-year drama student at the University of the West of England and had just completed his exams when he died from the cancer which had taken over his body. The 20-year-old from Gloucester was well known in Bristol’s drag queen circles by his stage name Blu Chyna, and had forged quite a reputation for his act. Tributes have been pouring in for Drew since his death a few weeks ago. His mum Gea described him as a “warrior” and the strongest person she will ever know. Fellow drag queen Misty Monique wrote: “I feel completely numb knowing I can’t share a stage with you again, but you will forever remain my sister and the stamp you marked on this scene will never fade.” Blu Chyna took part in Gloucester’s Drag Wars in 2017 and achieved all he did despite serious liver and bowel illnesses he was first diagnosed with at the age of just 13. Drew grew up in Gloucester, with five sisters and three brothers. He struggled with liver and bowel diseases from the age of 13, but Gea said he refused to let this stop him achieving his goals. She said: “Drew was an amazing person. He was very outgoing and outspoken. “Through all of his pain, he used to just get on with it. You wouldn’t think he was ill.” She said she was not surprised to find out Drew was gay. “Out of my nine children, he stood out the most,” Gea said. “Even at two, he was very feminine and liked dressing up. He would put tea towels on his head, and he loved hair and makeup. He has always been artistic. “When he was about 14 he came up to me and said he was bisexual. I said, ‘This is your mum you are talking to - you’re bloody gay.’ He just smiled.” Drew, who had a lifelong ambition to become an actor, appearing in school plays throughout his childhood. “Everyone said he had a talent from a young age,” Gea said. “He said he never used to have much confidence, but he did, more than he realised.” Gea noticed something wrong when Drew was 13. He was losing weight and his skin looked yellow. Doctors diagnosed him shortly after with a rare liver disease, autoimmune cholangitis. There was no indication he would have a reduced life expectancy at this point, but Drew was often in pain. He was in and out of Birmingham Children’s Hospital throughout his teenage years. But Drew still flourished at university and, encouraged by the Bristol scene, started performing as a drag artist in November 2016. Gea said: “When Drew told me he was thinking about doing drag, I said to him, ‘Don’t be worried about anybody. If it makes you happy, do it’. “And he did. He looked stunning when he dressed up.” Gea said Drew sometimes became frustrated with his illness. “He hated taking meds, so many every day,” she added. “He wanted to be in control of his life. “He didn’t like seeing the doctor. In his second year at uni, I found out Drew had a letter to see a specialist about his illness, but he never went. He said he had uni stuff, rehearsals, exams. I told him, ‘Your health comes first.’ “He would ring me up in pain in the middle of a rehearsal, but he would always carry on.” By last Christmas Drew’s condition had worsened to the point he was “in constant pain”, Gea said. He had his gallbladder removed on December 19, but shortly after Christmas he rang Gea to tell her he had been diagnosed with cirrhosis and needed a liver transplant. The cancer diagnosis came shortly afterwards. Gea was told by doctors at Bristol Royal Infirmary on April 23 he had only a few weeks to live. Drew was not informed, having always said he did not want to know how much time he had left. “It was a shock,” Gea said. “I didn’t get it, how life can be so cruel sometimes. But I never let him see me crumble. It had to be all about him. “He never gave up fighting. He was so inspirational and brave. “He held it together when God knows what was going through his head. Nothing could be as scary as what he went through.” Gea cared for Drew in his final 17 days, which he spent at the family’s new home in Newtown, Berkeley. “He said it was so calm,” Gea said. “He watched Harry Potter. He knew it word for word. “He still smiled and joked. He was made godfather to best friend Tammy’s son a week before he died, which meant a lot to him.” Gea said: “On the last day, I was telling him I loved him to the moon and stars and back. I always used to say that to him. “All he was saying was ‘mum, mum, mum’. I held his hand. “When he took his last breath, I was screaming, absolutely screaming. I said, ‘Drew, it is too soon’. “I gave him his first breath and watched him take his last.”
❝ Drew was an amazing person. He was very outgoing and outspoken ... He never gave up fighting. He was so inspirational and brave. Gea Llewelyn