RareVascular DiseaseTurned Ordinary Outgoing Mother 'Ugly-Looking' Dies at Age 47 - Life After Death People spent years inside her house to avoid staring at her.
Glamorous and extroverted Nicola Kirby was diagnosed with the rare disease granulomatosis polyangiitis (GPA) in 2017. She could not look in the mirror and refused to take pictures of her, as the illness had such a dramatic effect on her appearance.
A mother of eight children died in July after her five-year battle with thedisease. The disease left her deaf in both ears, severely damaged her soft palette, and crushed her nose.
Nicola struggled to speak because of the damage as the disease had already begun to alter her appearance before diagnosis, Birmingham Live ReportThe condition was , ears, nose, sinuses, kidneys, lungs as well as other organs.
A devoted mother and her grandmother, Nicola, did not leave her home for several years for fear of strangers judging or staring at her appearance. Now Sutton, his Coldfield son, Kieran, wants to raise awareness for GPA, raising money for his mother's funeral expenses and a study of vasculitis in the UK.
The 25-year-old says: She welcomed her children and her grandchildren like family, and welcomed anyone who walked through her door like family.
"She is a very strong woman and in the worst pain imaginable." She never gave up, even when attacked by I lived with my husband of 10 years, Kevin. She left her eight children. She's 8 and she's 27.
Of his mother's battle with his GPA, hotel employee Kieran said: One of the things my mom struggled with the most was how dramatically her appearance changed. It eroded her nose, leaving her deaf in both ears and losing much of her soft palette, leaving her unable to speak properly. 57}
"Something as trivial as a cold had a serious impact on her, eventually leading to her being hospitalized. The COVID-19 pandemic has been very difficult for her."
"Doctors initially said she could live for 10 years, but she was affected very quickly. She was so weak that she could not even use the stairs. It was hard because she hadn't left the house for years.She felt so self-conscious that people were staring at her.
"Even looking in the mirror hurt her nose." No one has photos of my mother from the last five years because she didn't allow it, not even with her grandchildren on her birthday."
Kieran recalled her mother's reaction to an episode of Davina McCall's "This Time Next Year" in which a Redditch woman with vasculitis was given an artificial nose.
"All my mother wanted was her normal nose," he said. "It was strange when she saw that episode on TV because most people have never heard of GPA and it's not a word you hear as often as cancer.
”We had her get her nostrils pierced for Christmas, but the clinics we found were all in America or outrageous.
He added: her mental health too. She was so isolated that she wouldn't leave her house. Me and my brother bought a French bulldog to be with her.
``She went from being a normal outgoing mother to feeling hurt. wanted to take the kids to the park and do normal things as a mother, but it completely changed every part of her life."
Kieran said I'm setting up a GoFundMe page to help pay for my mother's funeral expenses. The money raised will be shared between her funeral, the charity Vasculitis UK, and a memorial bench to give Nicola's children a place to visit and remember her. To donate visit theGo Fund Me page
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