A mum's sudden death has left her grieving son with £3k in funeral costs to pay and no home. Conrad Wilcox, 23, has been left with a mountain of problems following the death of his mother, Shirley.
The 23-year-old says his mother was diagnosed with an aneurysm last year. However, despite her diagnosis he insists she was living life as normal, reports Stoke-on-Trent Live.
However, the student confessed that all changed earlier this month when she started experiencing back pain one evening at their home near Stoke-on-Trent. Conrad said : "We knew she had the aneurysm since last year.
"She always seemed fine in herself. It was a Friday night, she had ordered herself a takeaway.
"After she had eaten the takeaway, she said she had back pains. It just felt normal, it didn’t feel like anything would happen and she was OK through the day.
“I had an assignment due in at uni. It was due that night, so I was in my bedroom.
"I heard my mum shouting, I thought she was shouting at the dog, she went to lie down in bed. I got her some paracetamol and a drink to take them with.
"I went back to my uni work and I just thought, what the signs of a ruptured aneurysm, I looked online and it came up with her symptoms. I asked her if this is what she’s feeling and as I asked her she fainted in the bathroom.”
Paramedics quickly arrived at the scene and rushed the mum to Royal Stoke Hospital. However, the 62-year-old tragically died hours later in hospital on December 3.
The 23-year-old says it feels like he has been existing in a 'different world' following his mum's death. Conrad said: "It's like I'm living in a different world.
"There’s things cropping up that I never thought of, all the things my mum dealt with. I’ve had council tax bills, gas and electric bills in my name, even just putting the bins out.
"It’s a big step up, I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. It’s only been two weeks.”
The grieving son also has to find a new home as Shirley was a council tenant. He needs somewhere not too far from his work, accepts dogs and in his budget, leaving his options very narrow.
Conrad said: “The ones who do accept pets, I’m up against people who have rented for years and have better history for renting. It’s really difficult at the moment.”
Alongside his housing issues, the son also has to plan a funeral for his recently deceased mother. Conrad added: “The minimum cost is just under £3,000.
"Then you have to pay for a coffin, any flowers and cremation, a cremation just below £900. It’s all adding up, the cost of the service, whichever church you go to, the order of services, the hearse.
"If you want to follow behind the hearse as a family, that's an extra £250.”
Conrad’s cousin, Larissa Wilcox, set up a GoFundMe to help him tackle the huge finances he is faced with following the loss of his mother. As of writing, the fundraiser currently has 282 donations and has raised over £6,500.
Conrad said: “I’m more than grateful for what everyone has donated, it’s so hard to put into words the support I've had. I’ve had loads of people asking to go to theirs for Christmas, it just means a lot.
"I know that my mum would be really happy that everyone's looking out for me and that I’ll be able to give her a good send off.”
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