Kerry-Anne Donaldson’s sister said misinformation is spreading about her death and it’s ‘causing a lot of pain’
A grieving sister has slammed ‘absolutely rubbish fake news’ about her ‘outgoing and funny’ sibling who has died. Kerry-Anne Donaldson, from Newham, died aged just 28 on September 15, having spent three months in Newham General Hospital with lung and heart complications.
‘Bubbly’ Kerry-Anne made headlines in recent years as an anti-nitrus oxide campaigner having been left wheelchair-bound after taking the now Class C drug up to 100 times a day in cannisters. Her sister Katie, also from Newham, said in the days after her sister’s death she had ‘depression’ after watching Kerry-Anne die.
Katie said: “Kerry-Anne was outgoing was always caring. She was always there for anyone, you could call on her for anything. She was funny, outgoing, caring, supporting, bubbly, and was a person that you could turn to. She was happy.”
She added that her sister “was always the life of the party. You knew that Kerry-Anne’s in the room, she just had that aura to her.” But around five years ago her life took a turn for the worse after waking up one morning with no sensation in her arms and legs.
Having started using nitrus oxide, also known as laughing gas, recreationally with friends when she was 18, excess abuse left her partially paralysed. Doctors told her she had a nitrate oxide overdose, vitamin B12 deficiency and permanent nerve damage. Katie admits this knocked her ‘caring and supporting’ sister’s confidence, leaving her ‘anxious’ and fearful of being ‘judged’.
The grieving 30-year-old said: “It was difficult at the start as she knew that she couldn’t just get up and go out how she used to, and that was challenging. Sometimes she would feel upset, sometimes she would feel sad, sometimes she didn’t want to come out because of anxiety as she didn’t want judgement from other people. Most of the people around her are not wheelchair bound, so she didn’t want to feel like a burden.”
Kerry-Anne eventually came to terms with her condition, especially after the home she shared with her dad was adapted to cater to wheelchair users. Katie added that people also included Kerry-Anne, and always made her feel welcome, and never like it was a chore to hang out with her.
She said: “We would literally include her, we would pull her out the house, we would tell her that we would come there and pick her up or get her a cab.” Katie added that she always said her younger sister could stay at hers if she ‘felt low’, something which Kerry-Anne took her up on.
‘It’s just too much for my dad’
Kerry-Anne died surrounded by family and loved ones, but watching her sister die was “emotionally scarring” for Katie. Kerry-Anne lived with her dad in Newham and had a very close bond with him. But Katie heartbreakingly told MyLondon that he can barely go into her room because the pain of losing his daughter is just too much.
She said: “My dad hasn’t taken it good at all because he lived with Kerry-Anne so it’s a constant reminder, he leaned on her for everything, and Kerry-Anne leaned on him for everything. He is finding it extremely hard.
“It’s just a constant reminder [of her death], because Kerry Anne lived in that house. He can’t go into her room, he doesn’t touch certain things. It’s just too much.”
‘Misinformation is spreading and it’s causing a lot of pain’
Katie says misinformation has spread surrounding Kerry-Anne’s death which has devastated the family. She and her relatives want to make crystal clear that despite what some people are saying online, Kerry-Anne’s death was absolutely not linked to her previous use of nitrus oxide.
She described the misinformation as “absolutely rubbish”. Katie added: “I would say people should stop spreading fake news if you don’t know the facts because it’s causing a lot of pain to the family. When it came to her using balloons after using the wheelchair, she never touched balloons, she campaigned against balloons.”
Katie added that the misinformation had destroyed Kerry-Anne’s parents. “It’s been very difficult for them,” she said. “It’s been extremely hard for them. Because we know as a family that is not true but it’s hard to stop fake news so to even pick up their phone and read negativity about Kerry-Anne has been extremely hard especially in during an extremely hard time.”
‘Please don’t use nitrus oxide
Katie is bravely continuing her younger sister’s legacy, and pleads with everyone – particularly the younger generation – to not touch laughing has. She said: “Avoid, completely avoid it. I know it’s a bit of fun because you may see friends around you doing it, and you feel like it might not have an impact on me because ‘I’m strong’, but eventually it will have an impact on your body so avoid it.
“We see it as fun but it does have a lasting impact, and if you ever feel like it might not then please read Kerry-Anne’s stories because that’s what she really campaigned against and that’s what she would have wanted the world to know.”
Katie vowed ‘to keep on continuing her name’ as her sister was “strong, she was positive, she was there for everyone, she even had strangers who reached out to her for advice on balloon use and she used to always support them, she was a supportive person. She played a big part in the community.”
‘We are fundraising for her funeral’
Kerry-Anne’s family has now established a fundraiser in order to help them with funeral costs and give her the ‘best send off possible’. There is also a tributes page where people can leave touching tributes to late Kerry-Anne. You can donate to the fundraiser and visit her tributes page.
What is nitrus oxide?
Nitrus oxide, often referred to as ‘nos’ or ‘balloons’ leaves users feeling a brief sense of euphoria, or a rush’ for around two minutes, before sobering up again. It’s typically inhaled through balloons filled from canisters of the gas. But abuse can have serious and harmful effects on the body such as being unable to use vitamin B12 which may lead to brain and spinal cord damage.
Is nitrus oxide illegal?
Nitrous oxide is now a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, criminalising possession and sale for recreationaluse. It now falls under the same category as anabolic steroids and some tranquilisers. If caught with it for unlawful use you now face a caution, community service or an unlimited fine. Repeat offenders may be hit with up to two years in prison.
You can donate to Kerry Anne’s funeral fundraiser here. You can visit the tributes page here.
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