Inspirational single mum loses battle against MND
A BRAVE single mother who inspired others with her pragmatic approach to her terminal illness has died, aged 29.
Mother-of-two Jennifer Bell passed away on Christmas Eve less than two years after she was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND).
Miss Bell was pregnant with daughter Kacey, now aged two, when she began to find her speech was slurring, but was told it was likely to be pregnancy hormones.
She was told she had the disease in March 2019, and after a rapid deterioration in her condition she was moved into a hospice in May this year.
Miss Bell was in the final year of her nursing degree and also raising daughter Georgia, now aged nine, when her life was turned upside down.
She was diagnosed after giving birth to Kacey but kept a positive outlook throughout and doted on her little girls. She described being able to spend last Christmas with her daughters as ‘a miracle’ and said at the time: ‘I feel blessed.’
Miss Bell, from Milngavie, Dunbartonshire, shared posts online about her battle with MND and joked her speech was affected because she was so ‘mouthy’.
She visited ten countries in ten months after the diagnosis and swam with dolphins, as well as making boxes for her daughters to open on milestones such as 18th and 21st birthdays and at their weddings.
Her father, David, described Miss Bell as his ‘darling daughter’ as he announced her death on Christmas Eve.
He wrote: ‘Writing this with a very heavy heart, my beautiful daughter Jennifer passed peacefully in the early hours of this morning. I want to thank everyone for their support and kindness to my darling daughter and my family.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank Marie Curie for the care they gave Jennifer.’