Heartbreaking final message of mum who died of leukaemia on Christmas Day
Kirsten Hawksey, a 23-year-old mother-of-one who tragically passed away on Christmas Day less than a month after being diagnosed with leukaemia, has posted a heart-wrenching final message on Facebook.
The mother of 15-month-old Penelope was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia on November 27, and on December 25th her fight with the horrible disease would come to an end.
Posting to Facebook on December 3 - the day she started chemotherapy - Kirsten left the world in tears.
The post reads, 'This is by all means not a cry for sympathy because that's not like me as you will be aware haha, but more so awareness. I never go to the doctors, so thank god for everyone pushing me to go over some unexplained bruising!
'I literally couldn't thank all my family, friends and work colleagues for all their support this last week. If anything I feel more lucky than unlucky.
The heartbreaking note intended for her friends and family touched so many more than Kirsten could have even imagined.
Kirsten's father Neil explained to the Liverpool Echo how his 'gorgeous and strong-willed' daughter had noticed bruising on her legs which she initially ignored.
He said, 'She actually Googled the symptom and it came back saying leukaemia. But it was just laughed off, because she wasn’t sick.'
Neil then explains as the bruising got worse Kirsten went to the doctors and after several blood tests was immediately admitted to hospital to start an intensive round of chemotherapy.
After chemo Kirsten was allowed to return home for Christmas, however she contracted a lung infection, which caused her immune system to crash.
Kirsten's family are not dwelling on her tragic passing though, but instead using it as a way to spread awareness about early detection.
Neil said, 'We didn’t even know she had posted that message on Facebook - Kirsten was very private so it was a massive shock that she had.
'But she obviously wanted to raise awareness and that is why we are speaking out to honour her wishes.'
Her father also explained how Kirsten had felt perfectly 'normal' in the days leading up to her diagnosis, apart from noticing the bruising.
'We are devastated and I don’t know what we would have done without Penelope. But we will make sure she never forgets her mum.'
Our thoughts are with all of Kirsten's friends and family at this difficult time.
This article originally appeared on New Idea.
