THE HARDEST GOODBYE

When her pregnant daughter was put on life support, Jackie Jones, 54, knew it was the end

- DONNA SMILEY, LUCY LAING

As my daughter Holly, 20, stood before me in her stunning princess wedding dress, the tears began to flow. ‘You look beautiful,’ I told her.

‘Come here,’ she said, hugging me tight. It was August 2015, and Holly was marrying her childhood sweetheart Joe, also 20, at the Western House Hotel in Ayr.

Although I was overjoyed, the day itself was bittersweet.

My husband Gareth had taken his life, aged 40, four years earlier, and we all missed him terribly. But Holly made sure he was remembered and she’d arranged for his favourite tipple – John Smith’s Bitter – to be on every table at the wedding.

Two weeks after the wedding, Joe and Holly went on their honeymoon to Canada. When they came back, Holly couldn’t wait to show me their holiday photos and tell me about their adventures.

‘It was incredible, Mum,’ she said.

SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT

Holly loved to travel and was always going abroad with her friends or Joe to far-flung places, determined to fit as much into her life as possible. And there was a very good reason.

Holly had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at just 18 months. A genetic condition resulting from a faulty gene, it causes sticky mucus to build up

in the lungs and digestive system, and we’d been told that she’d be lucky if she lived to 30.

But, as she grew, and treatment for the condition advanced, we were sure Holly would live much longer. She was so full of life, always making everyone laugh and putting friends and family first.

Still, we did have conversations in case the unthinkable happened.