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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Lifestyle
Oliver Clay & Michelle Cullen

Family's warning as mum of two with 'heart of gold' dies suddenly after birthday night out

A heartbroken family has issued a warning to others after a mum-of-two went on a birthday night out and never woke up.

Joanne Barker has been celebrating her 53rd birthday in July with a meal before returning home.

She had appeared "well" with "nothing wrong" after a "lovely" evening but sadly became unresponsive that night and later died in hospital.

READ MORE: Woman in hysterics over foul-mouthed note left under wallpaper by frustrated previous owner

Doctors identified the cause of Joanne's tragic death as a brain aneurysm - a type of bulge in the artery wall - having resulted in a fatal haemorrhage.

Her family were unaware of any symptoms before her death, as the admin and sales worker appeared fit and healthy, walking the dog three times a day and on no medication.

Joanne lived in Castlefields and was mother to Neve Hayter, 22, and Lee Barker, 29. Neve said her mother's nature was to "always put others before herself", reports Liverpool Echo.

That kind outlook continued beyond life due to her being registered for organ donation, with her heart being donated to a woman in her 60s in need of an "urgent transplant" and her kidneys going to two men in their 30s.

Joanne's family hope sharing their experience will encourage others who may have any early warning symptoms of a possible aneurysm to seek medical help.

Neve said: "We feel there's not enough awareness. None of us knew she had an aneurysm and none of us knew what it's like, it was like, 'where the hell has this come from? It's important.

"My mum had no past medical history, she took no tablets, she walked the dog three times a day."

Neve, a trainee nurse, said aneurysm symptoms can be difficult to spot as they can overlap with other conditions, such as "feeling under the weather".

Others can be more pronounced, such as visual disturbance, pain near the eye, weakness or numbness on one side of the face, loss of balance, difficulty speaking, and headaches.

Neve said: "If you have persistent headaches, push for an MRI or be referred to The Walton Centre . Don't sit there and be fobbed off with painkillers. We've all been referred to The Walton Centre now."

Outlining the motivation for raising awareness, she said: "Even if someone just had a scan, it could potentially save someone's life, even if it's one person."

Remembering her mum during life, Neve said: "She put everyone else before herself, and she had a heart of gold, and for her funeral we took donations for Mind because she tried to help a lot of people with mental health, she's done a lot for them."

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