The daughter of much-loved charity fundraiser Diane Burdaky has spoken of her family’s heartbreakDiane Burkady(Image: Submitted)

The daughter of a much-loved mum and grandma has spoken of her devastation after she died just days after being given a terminal diagnosis.

Earlier this month Diane Burdaky, 58, from Whitefield, was given the devastating news that she had just months to live due to a lung condition, caused by an autoimmune disease.

However, mum-of-three Diane, who has three grandchildren and was a dedicated charity fundraiser, was at home for just three days before she was rushed back into hospital.

She was able to be transferred to a hospice, however she died just hours after arriving there on Friday, October 17.

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She leaves behind daughters Zoe, 32, Lucy, 30 and Annabelle, 20 and three grandchildren, Zoe’s children Sienna, 15, Saskia, five, and seven-week-old Tommy,

Zoe has now paid a moving tribute to her ‘cherished’ mum as they fundraise to help pay for funeral costs. YOU CAN FIND MORE AND DONATE HERE.

(Image: Submitted)

“She was just fantastic,” Zoe said. “She was such a loving mum and absolutely adored her grandchildren.

“She was the giving person you could ever meet. She would help anyone with everything. She was the queen of batch cooking and was always cooking meals for family and friends.

“She was constantly raising money for charity. She volunteered every Saturday at the Cancer Research shop in Prestwich. She did loads of other charity stuff as well. She was like no one I’ve ever known.”

Diane, who was once a sales and marketing director at two large house building firms, was ‘perfectly healthy’ until the start of this year, Zoe said.

Diane was a dedicated charity fundraiser(Image: Submitted)

However, she started with a cough and went ‘back and forth’ to the doctors with what was initially thought to be a chest infection.

In May, after she began struggling with her breathing, she spent a week in intensive care with what was thought to be pneumonia.

After she was released, her ‘life and health as she knew it had completely vanished,’ Zoe said. She said her mum required oxygen therapy, which in practice left her virtually housebound as her health rapidly declined over a period of around six months.

She visited numerous hospitals and numerous specialists over that period in a bid to find out what was causing her issues, which it was suspected to be Interstitial lung disease, a progressive lung disease, which in-turn was thought to be caused by an autoimmune disease called anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS).

Diane with granddaughter Saskia at Cancer Research charity fundraiser she organised(Image: Submitted)

Zoe said at that stage they were given ‘every indication that she would be able to recover and live a normal life with a few minor adjustments’ such as using oxygen.

She got a chance to meet her new grandchild, Zoe’s seven-week old son, Tommy. “When I left hospital I didn’t even go home, I went straight round to mums so she could meet him” she said.

However, on October 7, two days after she had been admitted to hospital again, doctors confirmed Diane had Interstitial lung disease caused by ASS, and told her family members that she likely had ‘two to four months’ to live.

She was discharged from hospital a week later, but was readmitted just three days later after signs of an infection were spotted.

Diane – pictured with granddaughter Saskia – needed oxygen as her health declined(Image: Submitted)

The following morning, her devastated relatives were told she had just hours left. She was transferred to Bury Hospice on the morning of Friday, October 17 and died there later that evening.

Her family was told she had contracted bronchopneumonia and COVID-19 alongside her lung disease and autoimmune condition.

Her death came just nine days after her terminal diagnosis was confirmed, and Zoe said it had the speed of it had left the family shell-shocked.

Diane – pictured with her daughter Annabelle – was a doting mum and grandma her family say(Image: Submitted)

“She was literally back in her own home for two or three days, that was it,” Zoe said. “It was no time at all. She wanted to save up her funeral, buy a funeral plan or make any financial adjustments to help with her own funeral costs.

“But we didn’t have time for any of that. It was just chaos.”

The family are now fundraising in order to help cover the funeral costs. They have launched a GoFundMe page and say they have been ‘blown away’ by people’s generosity, having already raised £3,800 of their £5,000 target.

Zoe said: “She gave so much and raised so much money herself, I thought all we could do is try to raise the money to give her the best send off.”