By Sharon Williams-
Jade Goody’s mum, whose daughter lost her life to cancer after she shot to fame in 2002’s Big Brother has reported suffering from flashbacks after being the one to bathe and wash her daughter. Poor Jackiey Budden said she suffers “flashbacks” of those moments, even 10 years on from the fateful death of her beloved daughter. Goody became a household name at the big brother house in 2002, but sadly died after falling ill to cancer.
I was moved by ITV’s Good Morning program yesterday, and slightly surprised The Eye Of Media did not cover the program featuring Jade Goody’s mum sorrowful on air about her daughter. I was only too glad when an email sent requesting an article to be published in memory of Jade Goody was granted, and I was allowed to write the piece from my heart on this occasion without any editing to fit into any particular style of journalism. When a mother is traumatised by the death of her daughter, it is a serious thing, and Jackiey Budden needs all the professional support she can get. I have asked this publication to do what it can to see to it that Jade Goody’s mum is getting all the professional assistance she can. I will be contacting Itv about the same too.
Big brother was a programme watched by a vast majority of the nation, including myself. Seeing an interesting character die the way Jade Goody died was very sad for me as a mother in 2002, more so watching her mother breakdown on air in memory of her daughter. Budden’s interview on yesterday’s Good Morning programme was so heart breaking, I was forced to shed some tears. Loosing someone special and close to you is no easy thing to deal with. Having flashbacks of washing her body must be so distressing and sad.
She needs to get rid of those flashbacks and remember the good times. Nobody outside her family can imagine the depths of her pain unless they have had a similar experience. It still can’t be the same precise pain because Jade Goody is Jade Goody, and her mother is her mum. Each experience and situation is unique.
I remember dating one of the Uncles of a teenager called Stuart Dines, who died during a school trip in Austria in 2009. One evening, the man invited his sister over, and they continuously cried in memory of their relative. We had all been drinking and laughing prior to that one evening in 2013 when their heartbreak forced them to tell me all about it. I never forgot that moment made me remember other looses I had suffered in my extended family. Sorrow can be a very difficult thing to deal with, and thjose in sorrow need all the support they can get.
When speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, Goody’s mum explained: “What I can’t get around is, I was the one who, when she passed, I was the one who bathed her, washed her and I get that flashback all the time.
“I wish I had never done it because the flashback never goes away and it’s awful.
“Her back was purple and blue. I had never been in that situation before. I washed her and cleaned her and when the body man came I left her face open. To watch her disintegrate was the worst.
“He promised me he wouldn’t do the zip up before I walked away. That doesn’t go away.
“I brought her into life so I took her out of it and that’s why I did it. I don’t regret it but the image won’t leave me.
As she wiped away tears with a tissue, she spoke so emotionally about the loss of her daughter to cervical cancer on 22nd March 2009. She said: “People say it gets easier – it never gets easier. It’s the same every day. The hardest thing is it don’t go away.” It is so true. The pain of loss does not go away so easily, it can be heart rendering. I hope people send Jade Goody’s mum warm letters of condolences.
It must be very difficult to watch your daughter on a reality show, then a few months later have to bury her. I really hope she can celebrate her daughter’s life and remember the best times, and block out the disturbing memory of having to wash her daughter’s body. She must try and remember the laughter, the good nature, the love, and all the best memories.
Sad memories of loved ones can be brushed off, but it will take a lot of conscious and deliberate effort. Ten years after Jade Goody’s death, may her soul rest in perfect peace. I want to thank this publication for this article, and hope you keep up the good work you guys are doing.
Image: ITV