‘Truly irreplaceable’: Mum-of-six, 36, dies just days after suddenly feeling tired
A woman who watched her sister die just days after she suddenly became lethargic has spoken of her grief. Eileen Azzopardi, known fondly as Iyeiye, passed away in hospital eight days after she fell ill without warning.
The mum-of-six, who lived in Audenshaw, had been spending time with her family when she became extremely tired.
Her loved ones grew concerned when Eileen became delirious and unresponsive, struggling to remember the password to her phone.
As she fell asleep on the sofa, her family decided to call 999 and the much-loved mum, who had six daughters aged 12 to 18, was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Eileen then received an urgent blood transfusion but her condition deteriorated within hours – leaving doctors totally baffled as they tried to determine what was wrong.
The mum was placed into an induced coma while medics carried out an endoscopy, a test where a camera is placed inside the body.
During the examination, they discovered part of her bowel had died, later deciding to operate so they could re-attach the bowel together.
But Eileen’s devastated family were told chances of surviving the procedure were slim, and six hours later, they learned her body had ‘given up’.
Now her loved ones are trying to come to terms with their monumental loss – saying her six young daughters Ellie 18, Amy, 17, Libby, 15, Stephanie, 14, Lyla, 13 and Lucie, 12, are finding life ‘really difficult’ without their mum.
“We have a group chat where we try and comfort them by sharing pictures to keep her memory alive,” Eileen’s sister Susan Azzopardi, 30, told the Manchester Evening News.
“It’s really been awful. I can’t even look at her pictures now without getting upset. It’s seeing my mum lose her child, that’s what kills me.
“We turned her life support machine off and she took her last breath in front of all of us. It was so hard to watch her daughters break down emotionally.”
Mum-of-five Susan, who lives in Moston, says doctors still don’t know how Eileen died. The family hope a fullpostmortem examination will bring them some answers.
Susan can recall the very last conversation she had with her sister before she was placed into a coma. “When she went into hospital she was awake and talking,” Susan said.
“She was struggling to talk but told me she needed a hairbrush. That was the last time I ever spoke to her. Within hours, she was put into an induced coma.”
One of eight siblings, huge Oasis fan Eileen was known as the ‘family comedian’ who would “go out of her way to make everyone happy”.
“She was a big part of our family,” Susan continued. “She was always cracking jokes and making everyone smile.
“She was the family comedian and was always cracking jokes at the worst of times. She would go out of her way to make everyone happy.”
Susan says surgeons fought to save Eileen’s life but sadly the operation was not successful. “Surgeons tried their best to save my sister by removing the dead bowel without success,” she added.
“Eight days after my sister was taken to hospital, we had no choice but to let her die peacefully as her body had given up. She died in the presence of our mother, siblings, cousin and four of her own children.”
Eileen with her first baby
The family are desperately trying to raise funds for Eileen’s funeral expenses. “With this being so unexpected, we don’t have enough to cover her funeral cost,” Susan said.
“Anything anyone can do to help will be a massive relief for us all. Iyeiye was always so happy and the life and soul of the party. I will never be the same again without her. She is truly irreplaceable; we are heartbroken.”
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