CLAIRE REBECCA MOUNSEY Some of you who have known me for a long time will remember my daughter Claire who used to attend dog shows as a young child in the late 80's early 90's Claire was brought up with dogs from birth and also loved cats too.
 
Sadly, in May 2010 Claire died suddenly aged 24 years, in Portsmouth. Initially there was no obvious cause but after extensive tests, it was revealed to have been sudden adult death syndrome. We were told that she appeared to have died peacefully in her sleep.
 
Claire's adult life was one of ill-health and pain, which she had endured with courage and bravery. She had suffered from fybromyalgia for a considerable period, which had left her bed-ridden for two years. During this time, the Bath Centre for Pain Services had been a tremendous source of assistance and motivation to her and she overcame her illness to a large degree.
 
The loss of a child is a cruel and devastating blow to any parent and being an only-child, the heartache is even more severe, especially when she had battled so hard to overcome her pain.  Thankyou to those who have sent condolences and to the Bath Centre for helping Claire to have a better quality of life prior to her extremely extremely sad and untimely death..
 
Claire wrote an account of her experiences with fybromyalgia in February 2010 just three months before she died. The final paragraphs are full of optimism and hope for the future, which almost overwhelms me with sadness as she never achieved her dreams in life, through no fault of her own.  You can read Claire's story at the following link:-
 
Peter Mounsey November 2010.