Karen Andrews, 52, was just a few hours away from a night out with her friends when she suffered a brain aneurysm and died suddenly in her bed – now her son organised a marathon 52-hour trek to honour his beloved mum
A mum-of-three tragically passed away while preparing for a night out with her mates. Karen Andrews, who was only 52, died from a brain aneurysm on Remembrance Sunday in 2018.
Her son, Jake Keogh, recalled his mum being in “high spirits” the last time he saw her that afternoon – just hours before her sudden demise. Jake, hailing from Woodchurch, has since undertaken a challenging 52-hour walk in memory of his mum to raise funds for men’s mental health.
Jake, aged 29, said: “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.
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“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.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Karen served as a nurse for approximately 20 years and was a sister on the M1 ward at Clatterbridge Hospital at the time of her death. Her colleagues have since established a memorial in her honour, including a plaque and photograph displayed on the ward.
Jake added: “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.”
To honour his beloved mum, Jake organised a marathon 52-hour trek – representing each year of his mother’s life. The gruelling journey started at 12.15pm on Friday, November 7, and concluded at 5.15pm on Sunday, November 11 – precisely when he discovered his mum seven years before.
He described the route as “deliberately and meaningfully planned” to create a sense of closure. He explained: “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 trekked through day and night, pausing only momentarily to rest, eat or visit the loo. He revealed: “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 questioned whether he considered quitting, Jake replied: “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.”
Upon reaching the finish line, Jake was taken aback by the crowd of supporters 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, 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, click here.
