A woman has paid tribute to her "funny and caring" friend who died following a mental health battle. Nicola Thompson died at her home in Graig y Rhacca, Caerphilly, on Thursday, September 8. Her close friend Rhiannon said the 48-year-old is thought to have taken her own life.
Her friends now want to raise awareness about mental health. Rhiannon said she and Nicola had been in a friendship group of six since they were three years old. Despite helping Nicola with her mental health numerous times over the decades, she said the news still came as a huge shock.
Rhiannon, 48, said: "We've been friends for 45 years. She's the missing link in our friendship group now and we're all in shock. She held us together as friends over the years, to her we were her family."
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According to everyone who knew her, Nicola was a huge personality who never failed to make people laugh, Rhiannon said. "She was hysterically funny and by far the funniest person I have ever met," Rhiannon said. "Everything you said to her, she had a come back for and she would have everybody in stitches.
"Even on the day she died people said they couldn't believe it because people bumped into her said she was in high spirits and having a laugh. She was always laughing and always joking. She was really caring and loving. She loved her dog and her cat and she loved people. She loved music and anything funny, loved to quote Victoria Wood songs."
Rhiannon said even though Nicola put everything into her friendships, she never truly knew how loved she was. Rhiannon said: "We just loved her to bits and she didn't realise how much she was loved which is the sad part because we all really, really loved her. I know if one of us had been the one gone now, she would be here doing exactly the same for us as we are for her now. She had a hard life and now we want to make sure she has the perfect send off."
Aside from raising awareness about mental health, Rhiannon and Nicola's other friends are also raising money for Nicola's funeral following her sudden and unexpected death. They want her funeral to be a celebration of who she was.
Rhiannon said: "We are raising money for the funeral now. We've discussed it and we're not going to have a conventional funeral and wake. We're going to have comedians, drag queens, karaoke, and a proper celebration of her life. She loved a laugh and she's going to go out laughing. We're all devastated but we're going to make sure we all laugh that day. It's going to be such a huge funeral." You can donate to the fundraiser here.
The Samaritans can be reached 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you need a response immediately, it’s best to call them on the phone. You can reach them by calling 116 123, by emailing jo@samaritans.org or by visiting www.samaritans.org
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