Diabetic mother, Joanne Gay, died when blood sugar hit danger level

Published: 12 February 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

A DIABETIC mother-of-two who “lived for her kids” collapsed and died at her Angel home after her blood sugar crashed to a dangerous level, an inquest has heard.

Joanne Gay, known as “Jojo”, was looking after her parents’ home in Popham Street on October 24 when she had a sudden hypoglycemic fit as she was about to have a bath.

The 42-year-old lifeguard, from Tyndale Mansions, Upper Street, was found dead by her father, who returned home late that evening.

St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard yesterday (Thursday) that Ms Gay suffered from type 1 diabetes, which she failed to manage properly. She had been discharged from Whittington Hospital just 10 days earlier, after being admitted with dangerously high blood sugar levels. 

At the time of her admission, doctors at the Archway hospital found she had a blood sugar level of 19, where normal levels are between four and seven. 

Dr Karen Anthony, who treated her, said: “It was fairly obvious her diabetes had been poorly controlled in the past. She wasn’t in the habit of testing her blood sugar regularly.” 

She was also known to suffer from ketoacidosis – a build-up of harmful acids in the body. But coroner Dr Andrew Reid excluded this as a cause of her death, ruling that she died from a “sudden” fit.

He recorded a verdict of death from natural causes.

Speaking outside the inquest, Marion Paddock, Ms Gay’s sister, said she was a wonderful mother and devoted to her son and daughter, aged six and 12.

She added: “She was always thinking of other people before herself. That’s one of the reasons her diabetes was poorly controlled, because she was too busy thinking of others to think of herself. Her kids were her life.”