Former Walton Centre nurse Jennifer Gleig had a special relationship with her granddaughter Nola, who is non-verbal
Jennifer Gleig with her granddaughter Nola(Image: Rachael Gleig)
A beloved nan from Waterloo suffered a fatal heart attack hours after saying goodnight to her family. Jennifer Gleig went upstairs on the night of Thursday, February 26, but shortly after her daughter, who was still downstairs, heard a loud thump from her room.
Rachael Gleig, 36, ran into her mum’s bedroom and found Jennifer, a nan-of-four, lying on the floor. Rachael got Jennifer back into bed, but had a “horrible feeling” that things were badly wrong. She told The ECHO: “Her breathing was bad, she was sweating profusely. I rang 999. The paramedics came and said almost straight away that she had gone into cardiac arrest.”
Jennifer was taken to hospital where she was in intensive care for four days but she died last week, one day after her fifty-first birthday. Rachael says she’s still trying to come to terms with the death of her mum.
She said: “My mum was an absolutely amazing person, she was so kind and would do anything for anyone. She was our super hero.
“She would give anything to anyone and had a heart of gold. She had four grand children and loved them all equally but her bond with my little girl Nola was unbreakable.”
Jennifer Gleig died aged 51(Image: Rachael Gleig)
Rachael moved in with Jennifer during lockdown. As a single parent Jennifer became a second mum to Nola, four, who she called her Nola-bear.
Rachael said: “Nola misses her terribly. She keeps wondering where she is. Nola is non verbal and has autism. It’s hard for me to explain to her that nanny is now in heaven and she will always be watching over her, but Nola keeps looking for her in the house. We will find a way to go on, we are just so lost without her but I’m plodding on for my little girl.
“My mum used to always say she was scared of leaving Nola behind and her biggest fear came true, dying and leaving her Nola-bear. Their bond will never be broken, I know it.”
Nola, nan Jennifer and mum Rachael(Image: Rachael Gleig)
Jennifer grew up in Thornton and Waterloo, qualified as a nurse in her early 20s and worked at the Walton Centre for most of her career.
She suffered a cardiac arrest two years ago, and had type two diabetes.
A GoFundMe has been set up to give Jennifer the “best send off” and to support Rachael and Nola through this difficult time. You can donate to the fundraiser on the GoFundMe page.
Jennifer’s favourite picture of her “Nola-bear”(Image: Rachael Gleig)
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