A FAMILY in Bewdley is relying on the kindness of strangers to raise money for their nan's funeral costs after a shock diagnosis led to doctors telling them she has just three weeks to live.
Barbara Taylor, 66, was diagnosed with a stage three brain tumour last week after going into hospital with a suspected bowel blockage.
Her grandson Daniel told The Shuttle: "She had been in and out of hospital since Boxing Day. We all thought it was a bowel blockage.
"We are family of migraine sufferers so we didn't think much of it when she started having headaches, but then she started being sick and was finding it hard to swallow.
"It wasn't until she fell ill a couple of days after coming home that she had a CT scan and it turned out she has a stage three brain tumour.
"To go from what we thought was a bowel blockage to a brain tumour - it was a massive shock.
"The doctors have said there are no treatments that will help her, it's incurable. We're looking at two to three weeks now."
Daniel set up a Just Giving page in an effort to raise £9,000 towards funeral costs and to help support his grandad Nigel after Barbara's death.
"Funerals are obviously quite expensive and this has all come as a shock for us," said Daniel. "My nan has always been very selfless and thought about everyone else and she's doing that even now, worrying about the bills left for my grandad.
"He doesn't even know how to use a bank card because my nan has done it for him for the last 50 years. He's never been without her.
"The money will predominantly go towards funeral costs, but also towards paying off their car, which my grandad will lose otherwise after my nan dies as he won't be able to keep up the payments."
Barbara spent many years living in Stourport and Bewdley, working at Brintons carpet factory and as a carer in the local area, and spent a lot of time with the biker community at Riverside Cafe in Bewdley.
She later moved to Tenbury Wells, but family members are hoping the appeal will reach old friends of hers to help them reach their fundraising goal.
To make a donation towards Barbara's family's appeal, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/barbara-taylor.
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