Stories are memorial to tragic Sian
The family of a young woman from Telford who died last year have released a collection of short stories by her in her memory.
Sian Statham suffered from cystic fibrosis and in 2005 received a double lung transplant which allowed her to live a normal life – but, in 2012, Sian's body began to reject the transplanted organs and she was unable to recover. She died on March 27 last year, aged 32.
Her husband Nick said: "Sian was a beautiful person in every way and I am so proud to have been able to call her my wife."
Sian made the decision to donate her organs, and doctors were able to use her kidneys to save the lives of two other people.
Nick said: "She was so inspiring in the way she lived life to the full and gifted her organs when she passed on.
"Her passing has left a huge hole in my life and that of so many others."
After her death, Sian's mother Jan Parker discovered a collection of short stories that her daughter had written and stored on old floppy discs.
She said: "As Sian suffered from cystic fibrosis she was not as active as other children, so she would spend a lot of time in her room writing these stories. They were all on old floppy discs so I saved them on to the computer so I could read them. Some of the stories were unfinished so I had to finish them, but it is all Sian's work."
Jan compiled the stories into an anthology called Fatal Fortune and her son helped her make the book available online through Amazon and Lulu.com
The book will help raise cash for cystic fibrosis charities.
Jan said: "The family pitched in to help, my grandchildren helped me with a lot of the illustrations for the book. All of the words in it are Sian's, but I added a foreword with some words about Sian and her life."
Jan said the stories were all horror but written for teenagers and young adults, and she plans to donate copies to Sian's old school, Ercall Wood in Wellington.
Nick said: "Sian always loved horror, and people were surprised about her gore-loving tastes as she looked so sweet and like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth."
He added: "I know getting a book published was one of her ambitions, so getting Fatal Fortune out there means a lot to me and, of course, to the rest of her family.
"And raising money for cystic fibrosis at the same time is ideal.
"We feel we are doing her proud with this book."
Telford and Shrewsbury Hospital NHS Trust has since used Sian's story and picture to promote organ donation.
Fiona Deakin, specialist nurse for organ donation for the Midlands, said: "Sian's husband and family made the brave and generous decision to consent to organ donation when faced with the heartbreaking reality that she would not recover from the sudden deterioration in her health.
"They have also kindly allowed Sian's story to be told to form part of an awareness campaign surrounding organ donation."
