Jasmine Jones is fundraising to give her ‘life and soul’ mum the ‘send-off she deserves’
Michelle Dyson pictured with her daughter Jasmine Jones in the past at a family barbecue(Image: Jasmine Jones)
A bereaved daughter has paid tribute to her “devoted” mum and “dearly loved friend to many” who has sadly died at the age of just 48. Jasmine Jones said her mother, Michelle Dyson, would be remembered for her sense of humour, as well as her love of music.
At the same time as dealing with her grief, Jasmine, 24, is fundraising to help with the costs of Michelle’s funeral, which is due to take place in Scunthorpe on Friday, March 27, with a wake in Barton upon Humber. In a GoFundMe crowdfunder, Jasmine said: “Her death was so sudden within not even a week and she had absolutely no preparation for this.”
Jasmine, who lives in Hull, said she wanted to give her mum, originally from Scunthorpe but a Barton resident for most of her life, “the send-off she dearly deserves”. Jasmine said her mum was an alcoholic, her addiction starting when Jasmine was just a baby, and had become poorly in November.
“She developed a condition called Ascites, which means your liver can no longer filter anything and it pushes fluid into your abdomen. The best way I can describe it is she looked like a stick man with a circle for a belly; it was awful.”
Michelle was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary but later discharged herself. Jasmine urged her mum to go to Scunthorpe Hospital where she was “fine” at first but sadly died just a few days later.
“She was very young, just 48,” Jasmine said. “She reached out for help numerous times for her addiction and especially towards the end of her life – I know the NHS is very much under strain, but there were lapses.”
She said: “In a way I’m glad it’s over, not just because of the physical pain mum was in but the mental pain she suffered with her addiction. An addiction like this definitely affects the person but there is also the knock-on effect on everyone else.”
Jasmine described her mother as “devoted” to herself and her brother and said she was “loved dearly by multiple people in Barton”. Having to manage all the arrangements herself was a struggle, Jasmine said, but she was heartened by the support of her many friends in Hull and by the help of people who were donating to the appeal to help cover the funeral costs.
“A lot of the donations have come from strangers; the humanity that has been shown by people, many of whom I don’t even know, is absolutely insane,” Jasmine said, in response to the figure of over £4,200 that has already been raised. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without the kindness of people, those I know and strangers as well.”
Jasmine said that as she grew up, she was able to better understand that “a lot of bad things happened in Mum’s life”. “As I got older, the more she would speak about her life.
“One of the things I will carry with me is her humour – she was the life and soul in a room; she was a real character.
“She absolutely loved her music – Pink, Amy Winehouse, Kings of Leon – I call it Dad rock and in her case it was Mum rock. There wasn’t a day that she wouldn’t have Alexa on.”
On her appeal page, Jasmine said any donations, “no matter how big or small”, would be appreciated.
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