Manchester mum with ‘heart of gold’ died while celebrating 36th birthday on holiday

A young mum with a ‘heart of gold’ was celebrating her thirty-sixth birthday when she collapsed and died while on holiday, her family have said.

Hayley Thompson, from Burnage, collapsed just two days into her birthday get-away at Ladram Bay Holiday Park in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, last month.

She had not long opened her presents when she became unwell.

Paramedics were called out, by which time Hayley had suffered three seizures allegedly caused by a ruptured spleen.

Family handout

Despite the paramedic’s best efforts, Hayley was pronounced dead in her tent.

She leaves behind her eighteen-year-old daughter Ciana and partner Adam Woodhall.

Hayley had been unwell in the years leading up to her death, though her family had no idea just how serious her condition was.

In 2016, she began throwing up blood and was referred to hospital for checks where doctors discovered scarring on her liver, the causing of which was unknown.

Family handout

After being let down several times with liver transplants, Hayley’s family say she just wanted to ‘live life to the max’.

After several hospital visits, Hayley was placed on a waiting list for a transplant. She was matched with two liver donors, but neither matches were the ‘right size’ for her, her family say.

Her sister Liah Thompson said: “For the past two years she was with her partner, she was just really enjoying life… She got herself to a point where she was really happy and content in her life.

“We all knew she was poorly and knew she needed a transplant but we didn’t think it was needed as soon as it was. I think she downplayed it a lot; I think she wanted to live her life because she had been called for transplants before and was disappointed.

Family handout

“She just wanted to enjoy herself and I think that’s what sits well with me, that she was happy.”

Liah went on to describe her sister as someone who would ‘do anything for anyone’, adding that she had a ‘heart of gold’.

The family have since set up a fundraiser to raise money for the funeral directors to bring Hayley home to Manchester. Her body currently still remains in Devon.

The money will also go towards a funeral.