'Wonderful' mum, 22, died after being found unconscious by fiancé

A heartfelt tribute has been paid by a brother to his sister who tragically died following an asthma attack.

Amy Greenwood, from Skelmersdale, was found unconscious and not breathing by her fiancé after suffering a sudden severe asthma attack. Despite attempts at CPR and ventilation, the devastating decision was made to turn off her life support the next day.

The mum-of-two had battled with the common lung condition throughout her life. The Asda worker had experienced numerous hospital visits over the years, but none of her episodes were as severe as the one she suffered on the night before her death.

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Amy, 22, her brother James and sister Zoe shared an incredibly close bond and "would do everything together". Following Amy's death, James was "plunged into grief" and sought a purpose to help him cope with the loss - this led him to take up running.

After months of rigorous training, James ran the London Marathon yesterday (April 21) in memory of his beloved sister. Speaking to the ECHO, he said: "Losing Amy was so hard.

"She was like my best friend. The three of us were so close and we did everything together. We enjoyed things like going out for lunch and going on shopping trips, we enjoyed our holidays together spending time together at the beach or pool.

"We often took Amy's kids Bailey and Orla out on little trips as well to the farm or to the park. Spending time with Amy was great. It will never be the same without her and there will always be a huge gap in all of our lives without Amy around.

"Amy was so much fun and so full of life. She was a wonderful mum and adored her kids but we will all make sure they grow up knowing what a fantastic person their mother was."

James, a 21-year-old, ran his first London marathon in April last year and said it helped deal with his grief.

He added: "Running helped as it would give me time on my own just listening to music and zoning out. It helped me process everything and knowing I was doing it in Amy's memory made it very emotional.

"It wasn't easy though. I have asthma myself, although not as severe as Amy's was. My asthma is well-controlled, and I always make sure to bring my reliever inhaler out with me on training runs, in case I get symptoms.

"After I had finished, I got into the park at the end of the mall and sat and cried for a bit. It was a bit overwhelming but looking back, I loved every minute of it. The atmosphere and just thinking of everything Amy had gone through spurred me on whenever I hit a wall."

James enjoyed the experience so much, that he is running again this year to raise money for Asthma + Lung UK and will be wearing something very special on his running shoes – his sister's name.

He added: "My birthday wasn't long after the marathon last year and my parents bought me a special gift, a tag to put on my shoes with Amy's name on it. So, I will be looking down whenever I am finding it tough and thinking of my lovely sister."

The night before Amy's death, her fiancé Keegan Boylan heard a thud and when he went upstairs, he found Amy unconscious and not breathing. Immediately commencing CPR, family and paramedics were called and Amy was rushed to Wigan Hospital. Amy regained a heartbeat, but despite best efforts, she was placed on life support before dying on October 21, 2022.

Keegan - who has been raising their children Bayley, five, and Orla, almost two - will also be running the marathon and he and James are planning some training runs together.

James said: "I have spoken to Kegan about it and told him about all the highs and lows, like hitting walls at certain stages and the euphoria you feel at the end, but I just told him to get on with it.

"I ran it in four hours fifty-three minutes last year, but this year I am aiming for four and a half hours. For me, the best thing has been getting up early every morning and taking the dog out for a run each day as it has given me something to do. I didn't want to go down a hole after Amy's death and focusing on running has helped.

"I was close to my sister and miss everything about her but hopefully she'll be watching over me in April and cheering me on as I cross the finish line."