casket in back of hearse
Jade Small
Jade Small
March 14, 2024 Â·  3 min read

Mother-of-five, collapses and dies on school run after pain in head

Death is the inevitable part of life we all must face at some point. For some, it is expected due to a diagnosis. They get to plan what happens after they pass, and this can provide some comfort to their loved ones knowing they can say goodbye. Then for others, death comes suddenly and creates shock waves of grief for everyone who knew them. Donna Taylor left one morning on a school run, and never came home again.

GoFundMe

A Tragedy for the Taylors

Tragedy struck for the Taylor family. The day started out like any other. The morning routines for the Taylor family were well underway. However, Donna Taylor, the mother of the four Taylor children, expressed that she had pain in her head. Thinking nothing of it, she left the house to drop her five-year-old at school. However, she never made it home.

Donna’s cousin Kealy Smith, said: “She was literally just walking her daughter to school and said she got a pain in her head and she ending up collapsing, an ambulance was rung and they were working on her for about an hour at the side of the road. I think everyone was just in shock. How can you go from taking your daughter to school to being gone?”

Paramedics arrived at the scene and found an unconscious Donna. They tried or over an hour to resuscitate her, but they failed. After that, they rushed her to a hospital, but the doctors announced that she was brain dead. Her body was alive, but relying on life support. Not long after that, they switched off the machines, and Donna passed away. As it turns out, Donna suffered from a brain hemorrhage.

ambulance arrived at the scene
image credit: pexels

Donna was a young mum. In other words, death was not only unpredictable, but her family was totally unprepared. Donna had not set up anything in terms of her death. Moreover, they had not planned what will happen to her family if she died. “They didn’t have much as a family and with her being so young, nothing had been put in place to deal with it.”

A devoted mom

Donna was described by her loved ones as a “devoted mom”. Her four children, Nevaeh, one, Ella, five, Dakota 12, and Oliver, 14, were left without their mother. As a result, their father is now taking care of them by himself, even though he is still dealing with the shock of losing his wife so suddenly. “She lived for her children,” said Kealy. “You never saw her without a child. Everything she did was for them.”

On the road where she collapsed, in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, a shrine has been made where she collapsed. Her loved ones and acquaintances laid out flowers and candles in her honor. They included messages of love and strength, intended for the family. Additionally, there were messages containing meaningful memories shared with Donna.

One message read: “Thank you for always speaking to us when we first moved to the area. You were the first on the school run, twice a day, to say hello and chat. Sending love and strength to all your family. You will never be forgotten.”

GoFundMe for Donna

Kealy Smith set up a GoFundMe page for Donna’s family.So far, they have raised £8,109. The money is intended to go towards the funeral costs, as well as supporting her four children in whatever they may need during this time of grieving. “Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this,” wrote Kealy in the fundraiser description. “Anyone who knows us know we very rarely ask for help, however many of you have reached out asking if we need anything so I have decided to set this page up to try and help raise some funds for Donna’s funeral.”

Keep Reading: Mom shares grave warning to parents after finding teen son dead at his desk

Sources

  1. Devoted mum-of-five dies after collapsing on the school run.Metro. Zalina Alibhai. July 9, 2022.
  2. Mum-of-four, 38, dies suddenly after collapsing on school run.” Birmingham Mail. James Roger. July 8, 2022.
  3. Tributes paid to Yorkshire mother who died aged 38 after collapsing on school.” Run Yorkshire Post. Sarah Fitton. July5, 2022.