A family have told of their heartbreak after a mum died suddenly while doing the school run. Donna Taylor, 38, who was 'dedicated to her four children', collapsed at the side of the road last Monday, YorkshireLive reports.
She had earlier been suffering from a pain in her head, her family said. An ambulance was called and paramedics worked to try and save her life for an hour before taking her to the hospital where she was declared clinically brain dead. Her life support machine was switched off on Tuesday, June 28.
Donna grew up in Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. She lived with her four children, a one-year-old named Nevaeh, a five-year-old Ella, 12-year-old Dakota and 14-year-old Oliver, who are now being looked after by their dad.
She also had another son named Josh who tragically died when he was just three. Her cousin Kealey said she was beloved in the area, always chatting to people, saying her death came as a shock to everyone.
Kealy told YorkshireLive: "She was literally just walking her daughter to school and said she got a pain in her head and she ending up collapsing, an ambulance was rung and they were working on her for about an hour at the side of the road. It was very unexpected she was just taking her daughter to school, she was talking to my uncle the night before.
"I think everyone was just in shock. How can you go from taking your daughter to school to being gone."
Donna had no plans in place for a funeral or money to give to the children following her death. Her cousin and the rest of the family set up a Gofundme to help raise money for funeral costs, with any extra going to Donna's kids.
Kealy said: "They didn’t have much as a family and with her being so young, nothing had been put in place to deal with it, you don’t think of putting together a funeral at 38, so it's to help with that and anything left over will go to the kids."
The family say the response has been amazing, with almost £2,500 raised already.
"It’s been fantastic the response, she spoke to anyone, everyone knew her, everyone is saying the same thing, she was so welcoming, everyone is just in shock," Kealy said.
Donna was devoted to her children, rarely doing anything for herself. The family say she was never without her kids and her world revolved around them.
Kealy said: "Never saw her without her kids, her kids were her whole life, she never did anything for herself. As long as the kids were happy and looked after she was happy." You can donate to the fundraiser to help Donna's family here.
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