On Saturday 24th August, we lost one of the most beautiful souls in Carla Rose. A loving mother to two kids, grandmother to three grandchildren which she absolutely adored, a troublesome but caring daughter, an inseparable sister and a ray of sunshine to so many people.

She lived a happy upbringing and was never far away from her hometown of burntwood where she was surrounded by family and friends.

She was always making people laugh with her daft personality, always smiling, always showering people with love and affection. She had an obsession with animals and at one time, had 4 dogs who were like her best friends; Tia, Buster, Sky and Marley. She always joked that she would have 100 dogs if she lived on a farm. Her eagerness to look after and care for others personifies who she was as a person.

When she was 17, she met Matthew Terry and they quickly fell for each other. She was with Matthew for 18 years, raising two children; Liam and Demi in the process. After 18 years, the pair split and shortly after, Carla started to struggle with her mental health.

This soon led her down the wrong path where she got involved with the wrong crowds. Her vulnerabilities got exploited during her time with these crowds and it was this which eventually led to her demise and took her precious life away from her.

On Saturday 17th August, she met up with this crowd late into the evening. This was uncharacteristic of her as she had gone months without seeing them and had been drug free following some previous health scares. We strongly suspect there may have been some foul play involved to cause her to put her life at such risk as she was aware of the consequences of continuing her bad habits and had vowed not to touch drugs again. The police are currently investigating this.

At 6:30am on Sunday morning, I received a call saying my mom had suffered a cardiac arrest and she was lay in the road near her flat. I rushed to the scene where I found my sister in distress. Carla had already been taken to the hospital at this point, only we didn’t know which one. The next hour was full of panic and worry, not knowing if she was dead or alive and where she was. We eventually found out that she had been taken to Walsall Manor and quickly rushed to see her. We were told upon arriving that she was stable but she was having multiple tests carried out so we couldn’t see her. Later that day she was visited by her mom and dad. Upon seeing her, they soon realised that this was very serious and she was in a critical condition. I witnessed this for myself a day later and broke down as soon as I saw her in such a state; unrecognisable from the character that is usually so full of life and energy.

In the days that followed, everyone hoped and prayed that she would pull through, not being able to bear the thought of losing her. As the days went on and we found out more about her condition, we soon realised that the odds were stacked against us. By Friday, it was looking more likely that she wouldn’t make it. On the Saturday that followed, the whole family went over to visit her which showed the love and admiration that they all had for her. The hospital must of never seen so many visitors in one day for a patient. At 6:30pm, she peacefully passed away in her daughters arms. Our worst nightmare had come true.

As hard as it has been in the days since, our attention now has to turn to giving her the send off that she deserves. We need your help to make this happen. We would love to raise enough money to give her the big funeral that she had always joked she wanted. No one deserves a better send off than her.

She will always be loved by her family and friends and we will never forget her.