Three children, the youngest aged 13, have been left planning their mum's funeral after she took a "turn for the worst" following a positive Covid test.
Claire Harrison, 48, died suddenly in the evening of December 31, when she should have been celebrating the forthcoming New Year with her children, Connaugh, Ewan and Paige, Liverpool Echo reports.
The single mum from Huyton, Liverpool, had initially gone to Liverpool Women's Hospital to have some polyps removed (small tissue growths) after suspecting that something wasn't right.
Claire's niece, Samantha Jackson, said the procedure was successful and her aunt was sent home with a coil and a stent for her kidneys.
But a week later, the mum-of-three collapsed at home and was rushed to the city's Royal Hospital where doctors found she was Covid positive.
She also had an infection that was sending her into liver and kidney failure, resulting in fluid building up on her lungs.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Samantha said: "She was fine, she was getting out of bed and texting her children but suddenly she just took a turn for the worse.
"She was getting fluid retention on her lungs and then she caught Covid and it was too much for her. She went downhill all of a sudden.
"The family were called in around 3am on New Year's Eve to say there was nothing more they could do for her and were told to prepare, and she passed away around 5.40pm that day.
"She was the only parent they had. They were very close to their nan and grandad, but they passed away two years ago this year and they only ever had their mum their whole life.
"They are now facing the world being alone as they have no one else to turn to.
"Their mum was their world and now they have to learn to live without her."
She added: "It's the difficulty of finding funds. The youngest is 13 and the eldest has to take on that responsibility now. It's not just the funeral, it's the future as well.
"They face a long, hard road ahead. It was so unexpected, just a couple of weeks before she was up and about talking and texting her children.
"I just want to help, I'm trying my best. If I can take just one stress away as they deal with everything else. They haven't even had time to properly process it."
After setting up a fundraising page to help her cousins raise the money for Claire's funeral, a total of £6,125 has been donated towards the target of £7,000.
Set up on New Year's Day, the fundraising page read: "Yesterday while the world was waiting for the new years celebrations to begin.
"My three cousins Connaugh, Ewan and Paige were sat beside their mum's hospital bedside praying for a miracle and hoping that the doctors had somehow got it wrong when they were told their mum only had hours to live.
Samantha added: "This illness has happened in a space of three weeks and they have had no time to prepare. Like most people this time of year money is very tight for the family.
"So I am asking if people would like to donate as little or as much as they can to help towards the funeral cost and any monies left over will help the children financially as now they face life alone."
