Andrea Corr: IPF took my mum so quickly
Andrea Corr, lead singer of The Corrs, talks about the memory of her mum.
It’s nearly 15 years since I lost my beautiful mother, Jean, to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
When she was diagnosed in April of 1999 it was called cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis. Cryptogenic, like idiopathic, means not a lot is known about this disease.
Before this, she had been a healthy, happy non-smoker. She had a lust for life and an appreciation of the moment. She loved life, she loved daddy and she loved us. She was only 57 when she died - November of the same year. She didn't see the new millennium.
It still actually shocks me, writing this now, how devastatingly quick that was. I'll never be without the ache of her absence and sometimes I think I miss her more than ever now I am a mother myself. I named my daughter - my first baby - Jean, after her. I try to keep her alive.
The devastation of IPF
IPF is a devastating disease and I find it hard to understand how there is still no cure, 15 years after Mammy died of it. Many people have still never heard of it even though it kills 5,000 people a year in the UK.
I really hope that this World IPF Week people will come out in force and show their support to help raise the awareness and funds that are urgently needed for this disease.
I’ll be getting the family involved by getting them to blow bubbles, a symbol of solidarity for people affected by IPF. You can do the same and share your bubble-blowing photos on social media to help raise awareness.
You can also help fund research into IPF - donate online to our IPF appeal.
This week is World IPF Week - find out how you can get involved.
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