Dame Deborah James' mum has told how their first Christmas without her will be exceptionally hard.
Five months on since Deborah died of Stage 4 bowel cancer her mother Heather is preparing for the festive season but is finding it understandably tough as Deborah 'loved Christmas so much'.
She recalls last year how Deborah found a shoe ornament for her daughter Eloise and also bought some giant Nutcrackers which will be 'hard to see' again this year.
Along with Dame Debs’ husband Sebastien, the couple’s kids, Hugo, 15, and Eloise, 13, and the rest of the family, Heather is inspired by her daughter’s love of life.
Heather, 65, told The Sun: "“We all have our different ways of coping.
“But we all try to enjoy life, in the way that Deborah would have wanted."
She admits when the temptation is to 'hide away' she well ask herself ‘What would Deborah do?’
She added: “Even in her final weeks she lived life and she was an inspiration.
“It was one of her greatest gifts, and it’s one that she’s left us all.”
But throughout her grief she has gained comfort from her daughter's incredible legacy raising a staggering £7.5million for her BowelBabe Fund and making it ok to have conversations around bowels, bums and poo.
After her cancer treatment stopped working Dame Debs returned to her parents’ home for her final months.
But her desire to help others from the cruel disease made her more determined and just four days before she died one final project had been given the go-ahead.
She had approached grocery retailer Tesco to feature the symptoms of bowel cancer, along with Debs’ BowelBabe Fund logo, on packs of their toilet roll.
And although Debs did not live to see the project complete, her mum Heather was 'moved to tears' as she took a trip to the store and saw loo rolls with the BowelBabe logo stacked high admitting she 'wanted to hug them'.
Tesco has pledged to include the logo on Luxury Soft Toilet Paper as Heather gushes: "“What a legacy. It’s truly one of the greatest things she managed to do."
- Donate to Dame Debs’ Bowelbabe Fund by visiting bowelbabe.org .
