Here, in a moving tribute to her sister, she tells Nancy’s story.
“On 12 April 2000, Nancy was born - joining her four siblings and completing the Bennett family of seven."
“Nancy grew into being a courageous, happy and friendly individual. She was very bright and in the top set of her year. She was also polite and always had a way to make people smile with her kind personality and hilarious wit."
“Nancy never took time off school, she never complained and she enjoyed spending her days at school with her close group of friends - never wanting to miss out on any funny stories that happened. She took part in the athletics club with her best friend, loved drama class alongside all her friends and was also looking forward to taking part in The Duke of Edinburgh Award, particularly the camping."
Wasn't getting better
“Nancy came home after school feeling unwell one Tuesday, having a sore throat. Her mum Jennifer took her to the doctors on the Thursday with the sore throat and also sickness, but was told she had a viral infection."
“On Friday Jennifer bumped into the GP whilst at the supermarket and told him that Nancy wasn’t getting better. He insisted she would get better soon."
“Friday night Nancy’s mum and dad (Noel) were concerned Nancy was becoming dehydrated as she wasn’t able to keep any fluids down. They took her to hospital. At hospital, Nancy suddenly started to deteriorate at a fast rate but the doctors were unsure of what the cause was. Nancy lost her life on Saturday morning on 4 of July 2015. She was just 15."
Empty
“The following day, the hospital confirmed to Jennifer and Noel that Nancy had meningococcal septicaemia, strain W, leaving her family and friends feeling empty and as if they would never be able to feel the love and joy Nancy brought to their lives again."
“Nobody will ever know what direction Nancy’s life would have taken, but we know that she would have succeeded in anything she decided to do. She was full of positivity and brought so much light into the lives of those who were lucky enough to have met her."
“Nancy was someone who did not deserve to have her life taken from her by this disease. She had so much more to bring and should have had the chance to experience all the stages of life and fulfilled her dreams and hopes for the future. In the short time we had with Nancy, we got to experience genuine love and laughter that can never be matched. A wonderful sister, daughter and friend. An angel touched our lives for a precious 15 years.”
