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Mum kept three-year-old daughter's body in bed for 11 DAYS after she collapsed and died on Christmas Day
Little
Georgia Fieldsend passed away from a ruptured brain aneurysm in
December 2013, just five days after collapsing into her mother's arms on
a beach in Egypt
Little Georgia Fieldsend passed away from a ruptured brain aneurysm on December 30, 2013, just five days after collapsing into her mother's arms on a beach in Egypt.
Following her death in Sharm El Sheikh, the youngster's body was flown back to her family's Surrey home, where it remained for 11 days until her funeral.
During this time, her heartbroken mum, Ilse Fieldsend, would lie beside her, stroking her small forehead and telling her how much she loved her.
She also told the little girl - who would have turned seven today - about her funeral arrangements.
But she was careful not to hold her hand or cuddle her too much - in case she "warmed her body".
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“Our daughter’s body belonged with us, not in a morgue. Having her at home helped us grieve.”
Ilse, a 42-year-old party planner, and her husband, James, had to sign a transfer of care form after deciding to bring Georgia's body home.
After handing it to the funeral directors, their daughter was transported back to their house in Bramley in a portable hospital bed.
To preserve the youngster's body, dressed in her favourite dress and shoes, the couple kept her bedroom door shut and her window open.
The funeral directors reportedly said she would be "fine" in these conditions.
"Her body was cold but she looked and felt like my little girl," Ilse told the newspaper, adding that Georgia's younger brother, Joshua, also saw her body.
As Georgia's funeral neared, her complexion grew paler. But her parents were comforted that she was back home "where she belonged".
The night before the service, they placed her body in her own bed and lay either side of her.
Holding her hands, they both cried.
The next day, they drove Georgia to the crematorium.
Today, the little girl - who helped to save six lives by becoming an organ donor before her life support was turned off - would have marked her seventh birthday.
Looking back, Ilse told the newspaper that taking her daughter's body home and spending 11 days with her was "a beautiful thing to be able to do".
She now wants to do something positive in memory of Georgia, who died in hospital five days after she collapsed on the beach.
Since her daughter's tragic death, she has raised over £35,000 on the fundraising site through hosting coffee mornings and by releasing a song in tribute of Georgia.
The mum told GetSurrey : "Georgia would be turning seven and as a mother I was trying to find a way of telling her that I love her and involve others.
"I was very upset thinking about the things that I wanted to do with my daughter that I could not do as I wanted to bake a cake with Georgia for her birthday.
"The idea came from the pain and longing for her and so I wanted to reach out to friends and family to do something positive in memory of Georgia.
"The seven things could have been anything but I liked the idea of giving seven hugs or kisses to a child."
Since Georgia passed away, her mother has raised money for the Thomas Cook Ward children’s critical care unit at King’s College Hospital.
Georgia also became an organ donor and helped to save six lives, including two men in their 20s, a baby boy, a teenage girl, and a baby girl.
Ilse said: "My daughter donated organs and saved lives so this is something that I would like to continue to raise awareness about. It is about doing something nice in memory of Georgia and I wanted to be able to raise money as well.
"I normally host coffee mornings and this time I wanted to do something more from the heart by thinking what I would like to do with Georgia if she was here.
"I would love to connect her memory with something positive."
For Georgia's family, the loss remains with them on a daily basis and Ilse explained how the daily routine with Joshua, now five, can be difficult.
"It is waking up in the morning every day that is hard as the simplest things that I do with Joshua are painful as Georgia is not here with us," she said.
"The longing to see her gets harder and harder - even though I know it cannot happen it does not mean that I don't wish for it every day.
"If other children can benefit from these seven nice things that any parent can do on her birthday, that will make me happy."
To donate to Georgia’s fund, visit www.justgiving.com/ilse-Fieldsend and you can find out more about Georgia's Song here .
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