The daughter of a woman on ‘death’s door’ has shared the emotional moment that superstars from Coldplay dedicated a song to her mum – and made her a viral internet sensation.
Jackie Brennan was devastated when she came home to find her mum collapsed. The family were horrified to discover that their beloved mother, 79-year-old Denise, had life-threatening sepsis.
The family had been excited to watch Coldplay live for years and had all been looking forward to attending the band’s show in Manchester at the beginning of June. But the nightmarish ordeal began just days before they were due to attend their dream concert at the Etihad stadium.
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Jackie told the Manchester Evening News about the horrifying moment she walked into her Rochdale home to find her mother ‘almost dead’.
After a long time feeling unwell, Denise was rushed to hospital once her symptoms came to that dramatic head on Tuesday, May 30. But the concert was looming just two days later on Thursday, June 1 – Jackie could not help but wish for her mother to be well enough to make the show she had been so looking forward to.
“When they announced they were playing in Manchester about 10 months ago, I spent three hours on the phone getting my mum tickets for the accessible section. She’s wanted to go for 12 years, but I could never get her a disabled seat, and somehow I managed it this time, for me, my mum and sister, Tracey," said Jackie, 43.
"But then on Tuesday, I came home and found she had collapsed.
“My heart just dropped. We found out she had sepsis, she nearly died. If I hadn't come home, I don’t know what would have happened.
“My dad died from MMD two years ago, he died not being able to breathe and of an infection. Then my mum went from being fine to being on death’s door.”
“My mum went to Fairfield General in Bury, the staff were brilliant with her in the first few days. She was diagnosed with Crohn's disease – she had been ill for a long time,” explained Jackie.
“We were praying that she was finally going to be well enough for the concert, but my first thought was just that I wanted her to be alright.
The family had booked tickets for the Thursday show at the Etihad, but managed to delay a couple of days, with the help of Manchester City FC's helpline, in the hope that their beloved mum would be able to make it. “We managed to get her a wheelchair and companion space for Sunday night, it gave her some hope,” continued Jackie.
“But she still wasn’t right when Sunday came around.”
Jackie decided to go to the show with her sister and sister's partner.
But they made a sign dedicated to the missing mum to try and catch the eyes of the world-famous band members, including their lead singer, Chris Martin. “Instead of showing her videos of what she’s missing, which would just upset her, I made a basic sign that took me 10 minutes outside the show – I haven’t done that since I was about 12!” said Jackie.
Miraculously, during the show, the band spotted Jackie and brought her up on stage to sit next to Chris on the keyboard. The singer even changed the lyrics to one of Coldplay’s songs, 'Up and Up', to wish Denise well.
“Chris Martin changed the chorus of one of the songs so that 60,000 people were singing to wish my mum well. It was a miracle,” said Jackie – who was then able to show a video of the moment to her mum still in hospital.
“She had been so upset that she couldn’t go, then she was crying because she was happy. I’ve loved Coldplay for so long, the fact that the band and the technicians and everyone involved helped out to make this special moment, it means the world to me.
“People lifted me over the barrier, I went up on stage and couldn’t even speak. After the show, people in the crowd would come up to hug me and wish my mum well, it was so lovely.
"It was especially fitting that the song he played with me was ‘Up and Up’ because the meaning of the song is about things getting better, so that was perfect for what my mum was going through. I literally was shaking so much, and looked in total shellshock."
Jackie, a charity worker, captured the moment she showed the epic tribute to an overwhelmed Denise who called the gesture ‘unbelievable’, saying she had been ‘dreaming about it’. The reaction video started to go viral on social media, as well as being tweeted by the band. Jackie says she uses social media, but says the spread of the video is all a bit alien to her: “I’m 43! I’m not using TikTok that much!”
Jackie has now receiving messages of love from around the world, and its made the world of difference to her mum, who came home from hospital on Tuesday (June 13). “It’s been a trauma for me and my sister and our family. She’s talking to people about it, her demeanour has changed and she’s feeling brighter.
“Had she died, I think that might have been the end of me. I just want to thank the band for doing what they did. It was amazing.
"The nicest thing was so many people wishing my mum all the best, some saying they also had family who were ill in hospital and couldn’t go, or had sadly passed away... it was an epic experience."
Now, Jackie wants to thank Coldplay - and the fans - on her mother's behalf. "My mum, myself and my sister all want to say a massive thank you, for giving myself and my mum this truly magical experience," she said.
"Maybe this will get the message over to them that I truly feel that what they did, helped my mum recover from being so ill.
"Although she is nearly 78 she said she’s really hoping to see them play live one day, and maybe thank Chris in person for this incredible moment we all had."
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