Hayley Thompson had been looking forward to her trip away for weeks. Devon was her favourite place in the world and she couldn’t wait to spend a week there surrounded by friends and family.
Tragically, it was the last holiday she would ever take. The beloved mum-of-one was only two days into her break when the unthinkable happened. Hayley collapsed and died on her 36th birthday.
She had not long opened her presents when she became unwell. After returning to her tent with her partner, Adam Woodhall, Hayley said she felt sick. When she went to go to the bathroom, she suddenly fell to the floor.
Paramedics were called but it was already too late. Hayley, from Burnage, suffered three seizures and was pronounced dead inside her tent at Ladram Bay Holiday Park. She leaves behind her 18-year-old daughter, Ciana.
“She wasn’t breathing when they got there,” her sister, Liah Thompson, told the Manchester Evening News. “Her spleen ruptured and caused internal bleeding. That’s what caused the seizure.
“My sister phoned me at 5am and I just broke down. I was hysterical when I first got that phone call; I was screaming and shouting because I just couldn’t believe it.”
While Hayley had been unwell in the years leading up to her death, her family had no idea how serious her condition really was. In 2016, she began throwing up blood and was referred to hospital for checks.
It was there that doctors discovered scarring on her liver – but medics had no idea what was causing it. Following several hospital visits, it was determined that Hayley should be placed on a waiting list for a liver transplant. What her family didn’t know was that without a transplant, her mysterious condition was fatal.
Hayley was called to hospital for a potential liver match twice, but sadly neither of them were the right size for her. Due to being let down several times, her family say she just wanted to “enjoy her life to the max”.
“For the past two years she was with her partner, she was just really enjoying life,” 34-year-old Liah, a manager also from Burnage, added. “Before 2016, she used to be quite a large girl. She lost loads of weight. Because of that, she got herself to a point where she was really happy and content in her life.
“We all knew she was poorly and knew she needed a transplant but we didn’t think it was needed as soon as it was. I think she downplayed it a lot; I think she wanted to live her life because she had been called for transplants before and was disappointed. She just wanted to enjoy herself and I think that’s what sits well with me, that she was happy.”
A Disney fanatic, Hayley was known as someone who would “do anything for anyone” and had a “heart of gold”. Her family have also revealed a heartbreaking video she shared on her TikTok account just months before her untimely death.
“After it all happened, we found a Tiktok video saying ‘If I die young, just know I was happy’,” mum-of-three Liah said. “It’s quite heartbreaking. I know it’s a bit of a trend, but my sister was really thinking that. Hayley was such a lovely woman with a big heart who would go out of her way to help you whenever she could.”
Liah and her family are now trying to raise funds so they can pay a funeral directors to bring Hayley home to Manchester. Her body currently still remains in Devon. The money will also go towards funding her funeral.
“It’s been hard,” Liah added. “It’s been crazy; it’s been like a rollercoaster. I’m still trying to get my head around it. Because she’s passed away and she's all the way in Devon, we just want her home. I just want to lay her to rest as soon as possible. It breaks my heart.”
A fundraiser has been set up to help Liah and her family raise the cash they so desperately need to bring Hayley home and give her the “send off she deserves”. To donate, follow the link by clicking here.
READ NEXT:
