Tribute to 'absolutely amazing' West Lothian mum who died suddenly leaving behind seven children
The heartbroken daughter of a West Lothian woman who died suddenly at the age of just 43 has paid tribute to her ‘absolutely amazing’ mum.
Emma McGinty was taking her youngest children to bed on the evening of Monday, November 3, when she collapsed in pain at the bottom of the stairs at her Blackburn home.
Panicked and unable to move the right side of her body, the devoted mother-of-seven called her parents and her eldest children, Nicole, 23, Zoe, 21, and Naomi, 20, for help.
Nicole, a healthcare student, told the Evening News: “She kept saying there was something wrong and that she was so scared and so worried.
“I phoned an ambulance and I was doing the tests for a stroke like asking her to squeeze my hand and say something but I noticed her speech was slurred and I knew it wasn’t a good sign.”
Emma was taken to St John’s Hospital in Livingston and was later transferred to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary, where the family were told the devastating news that the 43-year-old, who had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 19, had suffered a catastrophic stroke caused by a blood clot in her carotid artery having travelled to her brain.
“The doctors told us that her inability to talk, or move the right side of her body, was likely to be permanent,” said Nicole. “We just couldn’t understand it because she had been fine before.
“That news absolutely destroyed my gran and my brother and sisters were all in bits.”
But the family’s worst fears were realised on November 5 - Emma’s favourite day of the year - when doctors phoned them and told them to come to the hospital to say their final goodbyes.
“They said she was deteriorating massively overnight and said to go to the hospital,” said Nicole. “They just made her comfortable and we all just stayed there with her - there was nothing more we could have done.”
Emma died on the same day, with her three eldest daughters by her side. She also left behind her 15-year-old son Andrew, four-year-old son Leon, three-year-old twins Zaria and Kai, and her beloved grandchildren Kade and Mason, both four.
“The little ones have been asking for mum and asking where she is and that’s been really hard,” said Nicole, who is mum to Kade.
“The hospital gave us bunny rabbit toys to give them and so on Thursday, we set off fireworks because Bonfire Night was mum’s favourite day of the year and we gave them the toys and explained that they were from mum and that she says she loves them so much.
“The toys are to help them understand and after we told them that, they hugged them and haven’t let go of them since.”
Nicole and her siblings are now left with the painful task of planning their mum’s funeral and have set up a GoFundMe page to help give Emma ‘the beautiful send off she deserves’.
“Mum hadn’t saved money for a funeral or anything like that, because there’s no way any of us could have expected it to come so soon. It shouldn’t have been this soon,” said Nicole.
She added that the family were ‘blown away’ by the response to the page, which has raised almost £5,000 in just one day.
“My mum was so well-known in Blackburn. People have known her there since she was a toddler and so the page has been shared widely and it just went crazy,” said Nicole.
“She was so loved by everybody. Mum was so full of life. She was funny, she was strong, she loved everybody around her so much. She loved every single one of us, and her grandkids as well, she loved them so much.
“And she loved to help people. Even if she was struggling with her illness, she was happy as long as she was helping her friends or her family. She would help us no matter what. She was absolutely amazing.
“She just had the biggest heart. She had this warmth that made everybody feel safe if they were in her presence.”
Nicole added: “I just want to thank everyone who has donated so much. We didn’t expect this and it just means so much to us.”
Anyone who wants to donate to the GoFundMe page can do so here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-give-our-mum-emma-the-beautiful-sendoff-she-deserve?attribution_id=sl:100c305d-886e-4695-bf60-6d141ab91d1f&utm_campaign=natman_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link.