A devoted mum of eight died at just 47 years old after spending years suffering from a rare disease. Nicola Kilby was 'glamorous and outgoing' but due to her illness - which altered her appearance - avoided taking photos and refused to look in the mirror.
In the last few years, Nicola didn't leave her home because she was so frightened of strangers judging her appearance and staring at her. The loving mum suffered from Wegener’s Granulomatosis, which is an inflammatory blood vessel disease.
The condition attacks the ears, nose, sinuses, kidneys and lungs and, in Nicola's case, left her deaf in both ears, damaged her soft pallet to the point that she struggled to talk, and caused her nose to collapse, Birmingham Live reports. Now her son Kieran, aged 25 and from Sutton Coldfield, hopes to raise awareness of GPA, and is fundraising towards his mum's funeral costs and for Vasculitis UK research.
