Coleen Nolan has shared the family’s final moments with Linda Nolan who sadly died aged 65.
Linda Nolan, a cherished television personality and pop star, sadly passed away on January 15 at the age of 65, after contracting pnuemonia following a courageous five-year battle with secondary breast cancer.
In her final hours, The Mirror columnist was surrounded by her loving sisters, just days after penning her final poignant piece for this publication.
Linda’s sisters – Anne, 74, Denise, 72, Maureen, 69, and Coleen, 59 – kept a devoted vigil by her bedside, having been summoned to her side by doctors at 3:30 am on Tuesday (January 14) as they made the heart-wrenching decision to place her on end-of-life care. The siblings, still grieving the loss of their sister Bernie in 2013, were united in their sorrow.
In the aftermath of Linda’s tragic death, her doting sister Coleen Nolan has shared the cherished final moments they spent together, revealing how these precious memories are providing the family with some solace.
The Loose Women star shared: “It’s been 10 days since my lovely sister Linda died and it’s still hard to believe she’s gone. As we prepare for her funeral, when she will be buried with her husband Brian’s ashes, I’m holding on to the memory of the last day I spent with her in hospital, which was full of love and laughter,” reports the Mirror.
Read more: Linda Nolan’s comedian nephew fights back tears on stage after her death
Coleen Nolan spoke on her final moments with Linda (Image: ITV )
“My daughter Ciara and I sat with her and we said everything we needed to say to each other. She told us how much she loved us and we told her we loved her. I think she knew it would be the last time she’d see us, but there were no tears.”
Coleen added that despite Linda’s deteriorating health condition since Christmas, she remained in good spirits until the end.
“Although she had double pneumonia and was on oxygen, she was cracking jokes, being her usual funny self and eating the chocolate people had brought her. She wanted to hear about my new grandson and I showed her lots of photos of him.”
Linda’s hospital bed was a hub of love and laughter, surrounded by those closest to her: “So many people came to see her, including her best friend of 60 years, Suzanne, and her stepdaughter Sarah, and the whole family were at her bedside. The nurses kept telling her to rest, but Linda, being Linda, would not stop talking.”
“When I left that evening, I told her I’d come and visit the next day and she said, ‘Oh, you don’t have to’ and I said, ‘I know, but I will,’ and then she said, ‘Col, I really love you.'”
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Linda Nolan died after a five-year battle with breast cancer (Image: Getty)
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The inevitability of farewell loomed as Coleen prepared to leave: “We were all exhausted and my sisters told me to go, as I had a two-hour drive home, so I gave Linda a big hug and a kiss, and I knew it would be the last time.
“When Maureen called the next morning to say Linda had died, I didn’t feel sad that I wasn’t there when she took her last breath because we’d got to spend that precious day together and I’m grateful for that.”
In the wake of Linda’s passing, the family is now organising her funeral, respecting her unique funeral wishes, Coleen divulged:” She wanted everyone in black, wearing mantillas,” and added with a touch of humour, “those little lace veils that cover your face.
“I remember saying, ‘You are joking, Linda! If I see all my sisters in mantillas, I’m going to laugh the whole way through the funeral!'”
Coleen noted: “We’ve decided not to do that, but we are wearing black. Her coffin is pure showbiz bright pink and sparkly, just as she wanted. The one thing my sister loved was bling her trainers had bling on them, her handbags, her tops, her walking stick so it feels right that she has a glittery pink coffin.”
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Linda’s final moments were spent surrounded by family, as Coleen recounts: “When I arrived at 5.30am, she was unconscious and we were told nothing more could be done. My brothers and sisters were all there Tommy, Brian, Denise, Anne and Maureen.
“There were about 14 of us at her bedside with the curtains pulled round us and the hospital staff kept coming in with trays of tea and biscuits. They were incredible.”
Coleen described her sister’s final moments: “Linda had signed a DNR and they turned off the monitors and started decreasing her oxygen, and gave her morphine so she wasn’t in pain. At 2pm, they said she’d probably go quickly, so there was devastation and sobbing, but we were still there at 9.30pm; she seemed determined to hang on.”
Coleen reflected on Linda’s remarkable resilience, recalling how she coped with the loss of her husband Brian just months after her initial breast cancer diagnosis 20 years ago. The couple had been inseparable for 29 years.
“Then, two months later my mum died, all while Linda was having treatment. I don’t think many people could survive that, but she did”.
