A fit-and-healthy mum tragically died from a brain aneurysm just months after her husband was diagnosed with cancer.
Sharon Bithell, 44, collapsed at work while her husband, David, was undergoing life-saving treatment in hospital, having had no idea that his wife was also seriously ill.
Mum-of-one Sharon had always been active and well, but suffered an unexpected brain aneurysm and tragically died ten days later.
The loving couple had just celebrated their 20th anniversary of being together when she sadly passed away on Thursday, October 24 last year, an inquest was told yesterday.
Catering team leader Sharon had been complaining of headaches in the weeks leading up to her death, and had even been admitted to hospital after she started to vomit due to the horrendous pain she was in.
But medics were unable to spot that she had a serious brain aneurysm.
Her death hit the headlines when it was revealed her husband David had been diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma only months before her death. When Sharon died, the 57-year-old had been in hospital receiving chemotherapy.
In a touching tribute at the time of her death David said: "I had the best years of my life with Sharon, we were best friends, we loved each other.
"I absolutely adored her, she was the love of my life and I thought we would have many years together still. We had hope for the future."
Sharon’s mother Linda Bunn told the court: "Sharon was under a lot of pressure building up to her collapse. Her husband was going through treatment for lymphoma, and they were both struggling at work.
"David was a Catering Manager at PGL Weymouth, Dorset and Sharon was the restaurant supervisor at PGL and they lived on site. She was an active member of an extreme fitness club on Portland, Dorset."
Linda revealed that when she came to visit her daughter in early October 2019, she noticed her right eye seemed to be watery and drooping and she was still experiencing headaches.
"On October 13, we went into town while she prepared dinner. We got a call to say she had gone down to the catering office and she had a fall,” she added.
"Paramedics assisted her and they soon called for the air ambulance."
After being rushed to Southampton General Hospital the shocked doctors realised Sharon had suffered a brain aneurysm, a condition where a blood vessel in the brain bursts catastrophically.
Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp heard that medics used the latest technology to use a coil of thin wire to seal off the aneurysm in Sharon’s brain, before placing her on a ventilator.
Dr Andy Eynon, a neurosurgical consultant at the hospital, said: "Her condition improved over the next 24 hours but routine investigations showed she was starting to suffer an arterial spasm.
"If you have cut an artery it naturally goes into spasm, this can restrict the amount of blood going around the whole arterial system and brain."
Linda revealed her daughter had recovered so well from the initial operation that she had been able to come off the ventilator and eat a sandwich, despite still have drains in her head to help remove a build-up of fluid on her brain.
But she added: "She started to become confused and agitated, she even tried to pull out her drain. They operated on her to reposition the drain.
"She really did not come round after that operation and just slipped away."
Sharon died at the hospital on October 24, 2019, leaving teenage son Harry and husband David.
The inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court heard that she had deteriorated during the night of October 22, when staff noticed her brain drain was no longer working effectively. However, they chose not to replace the drain.
Dr Eynon admitted: "If this had happened during the day, I would like to think that the drain would have been put in more quickly but I do not feel that Mrs Bithell's death was avoidable."
Dr Eynon added that brain aneurysms are almost impossible to treat, with only 25 percent of people able to survive a ruptured aneurysm. He was confident that despite the delay's in her treatment nothing could have been done to save Sharon.
The coroner concluded that the hospital staff had reflected appropriately on the learning's from Sharon’s death, and she was confident they would not repeat their mistakes again.
Linda revealed that in the wake of her daughter’s death her husband, who has overcome his cancer, is struggling with mental health problems and has only been able to return to work two mornings a week.
David and his son Harry were not informed about the inquest yesterday to protect their mental health.
They still live in the PGL camp at Weymouth, Dorset and have been battling the coronavirus lockdown which has left them totally isolated in their remote rural location.
At the time of Sharon’s death, a crowdfunding page raised more than £9,000 for the family to help the family in their grief.
Ms Rhodes-Kemp said: "I really do hope things get better and it must be so difficult for Harry. All he wants to do is kick a ball about in the pack but he cannot do that where he lives."
Summing up the inquest, Ms Rhodes-Kemp concluded that Sharon had died from natural causes.
The coroner told Linda: "I am so sorry about what has happened, and I just hope you understand a bit better what happened to your daughter.
"I hope that one day you can report back to Harry and David what happened. Thank you for what you had done for your family, you have provided strength in a very difficult time and I am sorry for your own loss."
