Tributes have poured in for a woman who "would do anything for anyone" who died suddenly at the age of 49.
Allison Lawlor had previously been diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND) and had been in and out of hospital due to her not " have a working immune system". Back in July this year, the 49-year-old visited hospital with an infection, which her partner Paul Gallacher said it was "just like any other time".
Allison was receiving treatment for the infection when she started to become forgetful. However, the day before she died she was "much better" and Paul had plans to visit his partner the following morning.
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The 49-year-old also facetimed Paul to say goodnight, which was something she had not been able to do that week and said she was "feeling much better". But just over an hour later, Paul received a devastating phone call from the hospital.
At around 1am on July 25, Paul was told Allison had "taken a bad turn" and she died. Despite managing to resuscitate her, Allison had been left brain damaged. Paul told the ECHO : "The last hour I spent with her, she wasn't Allison anymore. She didn't die from the infection, she died from a pulmonary embolism. It shouldn't have happened, it was completely out of the blue."
Since the ECHO shared Allison's story, dozens of tributes and messages of condolences have been paid. Writing on the ECHO's Facebook page, Katie Culbertson said: "Beautiful girl, so sad."
Jean Law added: "So sad for her and family and friends, god bless her and rest in peace." Claire Amanda also said: "My lovely school friend . Beautiful Allison RIP." Melissa Peters added: "Known her all my life. This is very sad."
Allison and Paul met 17 years ago on an online dating website where they "bonded immediately". Being from Woolton, she visited him in Scotland where he was living at the time, and "the rest was history".
Having lived together in Scotland for several years, the pair eventually moved to Liverpool in 2007 so Allison could be closer to her mum and sister who both had ovarian cancer at the time.
After Allison became ill, Paul became her carer and she was later diagnosed with FND, which causes symptoms can include difficulty moving, problems balancing, tingling sensations or twitches in the body, headaches, migraines or dizziness, changes in eyesight or pain that can be hard to locate, combined with tiredness. The cause is unknown, according to the Brain Charity.
As the years went by, Allison's health gradually deteriorated and often found herself in and out of hospital. Paul, who now lives in Allerton, described his partner as a "very kind person with a beautiful heart who would do anything she could to help others".
He told the ECHO: "She was very bubbly, loved make-up and animals. We had hamsters and guinea pigs who she absolutely adored. She loved nature. When she was in a better place, we went to a lot of places, she loved visiting Llandudno and always loved going back to Scotland."
But after the funeral costs were more than Paul was able to afford, and not being eligible for financial support or any family left to help, close friend Giselle Hyams set up a fundraising page to her cover the £2,500 costs. The fundraising link can be found here.
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