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Mum, 52, died suddenly while getting ready for night out

A mum-of-three died suddenly while getting ready for a night out with her friends. Karen Andrews was just 52 years old when she died from a brain aneurysm on Remembrance Sunday in 2018. Her son, Jake Keogh, said his mum had been in "high spirits" when he last saw her that afternoon - just hours before her sudden death. Jake, from Woodchurch , has since completed a gruelling 52-hour walk in memory of his mum to raise money for men's mental health. Jake, 29, told the ECHO : "The last time I saw her was around 2pm that Sunday afternoon. She was going out to Liverpool with some friends that evening. "I had gone out for a walk and came back around two hours later. I found her lying on her bed in her room. The post mortem came back saying she'd had a bleed on the brain. "In a strange way, it comforts me to know that's how she would have wanted to go. She was in high spirits the last time I saw her. For her to have gone quick and without suffering is the silver lining for us. At least she never really had to know she was suffering." Karen worked as a nurse for around 20 years and was a sister on the M1 ward at Clatterbridge Hospital at the time of her death. Her colleagues have since created a memorial in her honour, including a plaque and photograph displayed on the ward. Jake said: "All the nurses stood in a huge guard of honour for her in the rain at her funeral, it was a really sad day but it just showed how much she meant to everyone. "She was special. She was funny, she had a real dry sense of humour. She was caring in a tough love way. If I was wrong I knew I was wrong, she'd tell me straight away. If she could do something for you, she would. "She'd give you the last penny in her purse if she thought you needed it." In memory of his mum, Jake planned a walk lasting 52 hours - one hour for each year of his mum's life. The walk began at 12.15pm on Friday, November 7, and finished at 5.15pm on Sunday, November 11 - the exact time he found his mum seven years earlier. He described the route as "deliberately and meaningfully planned" to feel like a full-circle moment. He said: "This weekend was about turning something so awful into something more powerful and prove you can come full circle on these things. "Losing my mum was hard and it still is of course. But enough time has passed and enough weakness and sadness that I wanted to do something positive." Jake walked through the day and night, only stopping briefly to rest, eat or use the toilet. He said: "After around 13 hours I got a real pain in my right knee, and it just spread. For the last 39 hours I was limping. People were dropping off knee braces for me because I’d lost so much movement." When asked if he ever thought of giving up, Jake said: "I knew I wasn't going to give up. I always thought if I got to midnight on Sunday it would give me a boost. "That night it was freezing. My ankles and my right knee were killing me and so was the tiredness because I hadn't slept. At that point I was really digging deep. I was starting to question if I could do it. "When I saw the sunrise, that was the moment that spurred me on and I knew I was nearly done." When Jake reached the finish line, he was overwhelmed by the support waiting for him. "Losing my mum was, and possibly always will be, the worst day of my life. But when I got to the finish line, I was gobsmacked by the amount of people who had showed up to support me. "I was expecting around a table or two of people. But there was around 50, 60 people, all stood there with a massive banner cheering me on. That's the best moment of my life." Jake, who is the youngest of three brothers - Karl, Zacc and stepsister Hayley - said the walk was also about breaking the stigma around men's mental health: "After I lost my mum, I was in a really bad place for a long time. I wanted to be open and vulnerable about it. "The amount of donations and messages I've had from people I haven't spoke to for years shows there's people who care about you and your story more than you could ever even imagine." You can check out Jake's fundraiser if you want to know more.

Emily Carubia •
Mum, 52, died suddenly while getting ready for night out

A mum-of-three died suddenly while getting ready for a night out with her friends. Karen Andrews was just 52 years old when she died from a brain aneurysm on Remembrance Sunday in 2018. Her son, Jake Keogh, said his mum had been in "high spirits" when he last saw her that afternoon - just hours before her sudden death. Jake, from Woodchurch , has since completed a gruelling 52-hour walk in memory of his mum to raise money for men's mental health. Jake, 29, told the ECHO : "The last time I saw her was around 2pm that Sunday afternoon. She was going out to Liverpool with some friends that evening. "I had gone out for a walk and came back around two hours later. I found her lying on her bed in her room. The post mortem came back saying she'd had a bleed on the brain. "In a strange way, it comforts me to know that's how she would have wanted to go. She was in high spirits the last time I saw her. For her to have gone quick and without suffering is the silver lining for us. At least she never really had to know she was suffering." Karen worked as a nurse for around 20 years and was a sister on the M1 ward at Clatterbridge Hospital at the time of her death. Her colleagues have since created a memorial in her honour, including a plaque and photograph displayed on the ward. Jake said: "All the nurses stood in a huge guard of honour for her in the rain at her funeral, it was a really sad day but it just showed how much she meant to everyone. "She was special. She was funny, she had a real dry sense of humour. She was caring in a tough love way. If I was wrong I knew I was wrong, she'd tell me straight away. If she could do something for you, she would. "She'd give you the last penny in her purse if she thought you needed it." In memory of his mum, Jake planned a walk lasting 52 hours - one hour for each year of his mum's life. The walk began at 12.15pm on Friday, November 7, and finished at 5.15pm on Sunday, November 11 - the exact time he found his mum seven years earlier. He described the route as "deliberately and meaningfully planned" to feel like a full-circle moment. He said: "This weekend was about turning something so awful into something more powerful and prove you can come full circle on these things. "Losing my mum was hard and it still is of course. But enough time has passed and enough weakness and sadness that I wanted to do something positive." Jake walked through the day and night, only stopping briefly to rest, eat or use the toilet. He said: "After around 13 hours I got a real pain in my right knee, and it just spread. For the last 39 hours I was limping. People were dropping off knee braces for me because I’d lost so much movement." When asked if he ever thought of giving up, Jake said: "I knew I wasn't going to give up. I always thought if I got to midnight on Sunday it would give me a boost. "That night it was freezing. My ankles and my right knee were killing me and so was the tiredness because I hadn't slept. At that point I was really digging deep. I was starting to question if I could do it. "When I saw the sunrise, that was the moment that spurred me on and I knew I was nearly done." When Jake reached the finish line, he was overwhelmed by the support waiting for him. "Losing my mum was, and possibly always will be, the worst day of my life. But when I got to the finish line, I was gobsmacked by the amount of people who had showed up to support me. "I was expecting around a table or two of people. But there was around 50, 60 people, all stood there with a massive banner cheering me on. That's the best moment of my life." Jake, who is the youngest of three brothers - Karl, Zacc and stepsister Hayley - said the walk was also about breaking the stigma around men's mental health: "After I lost my mum, I was in a really bad place for a long time. I wanted to be open and vulnerable about it. "The amount of donations and messages I've had from people I haven't spoke to for years shows there's people who care about you and your story more than you could ever even imagine." You can check out Jake's fundraiser if you want to know more.

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