Fundraiser launched by Danielle Miller for her mum's funeral

Paula Miller with one of her granddaughters

A fundraiser has been launched by 21-year-old Danielle Miller, from Heywood, to help with funeral costs after her mum, Paula Miller, died unexpectedly on Friday 10 November.

Aged just 44, Paula leaves behind three children aged just 21, 15 and 12, and two young granddaughters. She was admitted to Fairfield Hospital on Monday 6 November in a critical condition.

Danielle, whose dad died when she was 10, said: “They said there was a very high chance that she would not make it. I did not know what to do. The doctor put me in a tiny square room and asked me ‘what do you want us to do?’ I begged him to do everything.”

She continued: “My heart was broken. They told me they would put her on a machine to help her breathe, they would have to put tubes in her lungs to get the blood out and that she had so much internal bleeding they did not know where it was actually coming from.

“They wheeled my mum off to a CT scan and told me that after the scan they would take her up to ICU. I went to ICU, gave her a kiss, told her I loved her and begged her to stay strong.”

After Paula’s condition deteriorated, Danielle was then faced with the heart-breaking decision to turn off her mum’s life support – just a day after she was admitted to hospital.

The coroner has since ruled the cause of death as kidney disease and strokes, says Danielle.

She added: “The minute I saw my brother’s face and I had to tell him that our mother was going to die, it hit me hard. We stayed by my mother’s bedside for a long three days before she took her last breath at 4.20pm on Friday.

“When Friday came and she eventually took her last breath, the only things going through my mind were that I never got to say I am sorry, I never got to have a last conversation with her, never got to hug her again. She will never kiss me good night again or call me silly names but still end the conversation with 'I love you'.

"The worst thing was how would I tell my youngest sister mum was gone and she would never be back? How do I tell my kids their granny can not visit anymore?”

Danielle said: “We have been left to deal with everything that comes after someone died. We can not grieve or even accept she has gone until we can get her a funeral. We have been left alone to pick up the pieces.

“At 21 years of age, I never thought I would be left without my mother and father, and with two young children to support myself, finding the money would be a struggle. I am left alone to make sure she has the funeral she deserves. I pray that no one will ever go through the pain and heartache my family and I have gone through this week.

“I hope that you can find it in your hearts to spare anything that may help and share so that we can lay my mum to rest at peace with our dad.”

A funeral for mid-December has been booked, but a deposit of £1,000 must be paid up front for Danielle to give her mum the goodbye she wants.

To donate, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/4p1a3wg