Newham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 28, from Newham, has died after three months in hospital. Her sister condemned “absolutely rubbish fake news” about her death.
“Bubbly” In recent years, Kerry-Anne gained notoriety as an anti-nitrous oxide activist who became wheelchair-bound after consuming canisters of the now-class C medication up to 100 times per day. After witnessing Kerry-Anne’s death, her sister Katie, who is also from Newham, claimed to have had “depression” in the days following her sister’s passing.
Katie said:
“Kerry-Anne was outgoing was always caring. She was always there for anyone, you could call on her for anything. She was funny, outgoing, caring, supporting, bubbly, and was a person that you could turn to. She was happy.”
Her sister “was always the life of the party,” she continued. Kerry-Anne was in the room, and you could tell because of her aura. However, her life took a turn for the worst about five years ago when she woke up one morning without feeling anything in her arms or legs.
Excessive misuse left her partially paralyzed when she began using nitrus oxide, often known as laughing gas, recreationally with friends when she was eighteen. Doctors informed her that she had irreversible nerve damage, a vitamin B12 deficiency, and an overdose of nitrate oxide. Katie acknowledges that this undermined the confidence of her “caring and supporting” sister, making her “anxious” and afraid of being “judged.”
The grieving 30-year-old said:
“It was difficult at the start as she knew that she couldn’t just get up and go out how she used to, and that was challenging. Sometimes she would feel upset, sometimes she would feel sad, sometimes she didn’t want to come out because of anxiety as she didn’t want judgement from other people. Most of the people around her are not wheelchair bound, so she didn’t want to feel like a burden.”
After the house she lived with her father was modified to accommodate wheelchair users, Kerry-Anne finally accepted her disability. According to Katie, people always made Kerry-Anne feel welcome and never treated hanging out with her like a burden.
She said:
“We would literally include her, we would pull her out the house, we would tell her that we would come there and pick her up or get her a cab.”
Katie added that she always said her younger sister could stay at hers if she ‘felt low’, something which Kerry-Anne took her up on.
Kerry-Anne died surrounded by family and loved ones, but watching her sister die was “emotionally scarring” for Katie. Kerry-Anne lived with her dad in Newham and had a very close bond with him. But Katie heartbreakingly told MyLondon that he can barely go into her room because the pain of losing his daughter is just too much.
She described the misinformation as “absolutely rubbish”. Katie added: “I would say people should stop spreading fake news if you don’t know the facts because it’s causing a lot of pain to the family. When it came to her using balloons after using the wheelchair, she never touched balloons, she campaigned against balloons.”
Katie added that the misinformation had destroyed Kerry-Anne’s parents. “It’s been very difficult for them,” she said. “It’s been extremely hard for them. Because we know as a family that is not true but it’s hard to stop fake news so to even pick up their phone and read negativity about Kerry-Anne has been extremely hard especially in during an extremely hard time.”
Katie is bravely continuing her younger sister’s legacy, and pleads with everyone – particularly the younger generation – to not touch laughing. She said: “Avoid, completely avoid it. I know it’s a bit of fun because you may see friends around you doing it, and you feel like it might not have an impact on me because ‘I’m strong’, but eventually it will have an impact on your body so avoid it.
We see it as fun but it does have a lasting impact, and if you ever feel like it might not then please read Kerry-Anne’s stories because that’s what she really campaigned against and that’s what she would have wanted the world to know.”
Katie vowed ‘to keep on continuing her name’ as her sister was “strong, she was positive, she was there for everyone, she even had strangers who reached out to her for advice on balloon use and she used to always support them, she was a supportive person. She played a big part in the community.”
In an effort to provide the “best send off possible” and assist with funeral expenses, Kerry-Anne’s family has now started a campaign. People can also post heartfelt thoughts to the late Kerry-Anne on the tributes site. You can visit her tributes page and make a donation to the cause.
Users of nitrus oxide, commonly known as “nos” or “balloons,” experience a quick rush of exhilaration for around two minutes before sobering up once more. Usually, balloons loaded with gas canisters are used to inhale it.
The Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 made nitrous oxide a Class C narcotic, making its sale and possession for recreational purposes illegal. It now belongs to the same class as some tranquilizers and anabolic steroids.
What medical timeline led to her hospital stay and discharge?
Kerry-Anne Donaldson’s time in the hospital included a complex medical timeline of significant lung and heart issues requiring long-term treatment at Newham General Hospital over about three months. While exact day-to-day medical information is not available, standard medical protocols for such issues usually involve:
Close and ongoing monitoring and treatment of the heart and lungs, potentially with oxygen therapy, drugs designed to support the heart and/or lungs, and medications to manage infection or inflammation.
Care by a team of medical professionals, such as nurses, cardiologists, and pulmonologists. Possibly physiotherapists helping manage symptoms and improve lung capacity.