Author Archives: Jacssisters

Our account of Jac’s illness — part three

On the night before Jac died her ‘Suffolk’ sister telephoned Jim Perrin to enquire about her; this was in the evening, after he had left the hospital. He told her that Jac ‘was much brighter’ and that ‘the jaundice had improved’. She was very disturbed by this as she had until that moment no idea that Jac had been jaundiced, and her ‘Yorkshire’ sister, who also telephoned Jim Perrin that evening, was not told of it at all; indeed he said to her ‘I think she is a little better tonight’. He gave no indication to either sister of any undue concern despite what, subsequently — and in clear contradiction — he wrote in West.

So far from being unconscious, ref. page 271, her ‘Suffolk’ sister spoke to her for a very long time: ‘Hey Jac, we have been on the phone for over two hours!’ before they said their goodnights, and her ‘Yorkshire’ sister also spoke with her afterwards, even later that same evening. Conversations which took place after Jim Perrin had left Jac in the hospital…

By now she was extremely tired — it was nearly midnight — and mazy, so her ‘Yorkshire’ sister suggested to her that she would contact her ‘Welsh’ sister and tell her not to ring that night, but, on Jac’s behalf, she would say goodnight to her — and to this Jac agreed. Continue reading →

Of Jac’s marriage and family

After many years our sister’s first relationship came to its end; there had been so much love and such traumas, but they kept in touch throughout their lives. In the ensuing period Jac had a brief but happy time with a close friend, an architecture student (who was also loved and known by her family) before deciding to go abroad for a while. He was a gentle young man with a very sensitive soul: much later in his life, tragically he was involved in a catastrophic motor bike accident.

Our sister was an enthusiastic and experienced traveller who loved the sun and the sea and she visited both Greece and Italy as well as Turkey; the latter holding the foremost place in her heart, and many were the postcards we received from far away places.

Her next significant relationship was with a young man, also an architecture student, whom she had met in that Liverpool milieu. They fell deeply in love and later married, and he has now become a professional and highly innovative architect. After living briefly in Liverpool, London and Cumbria they settled, finally, in the countryside of North Wales where they bought their first real home — an old cottage needing much work — and where they raised their family of two boys and a girl. Jac’s husband designed and oversaw the restoration of the house and in it are several examples of Jac’s stained glass which still give great delight to the present owners. Continue reading →

Our account of Jac’s illness — part two

Towards the end of our ‘Yorkshire’ sister’s last visit to Wales on that May bank holiday, Jac was experiencing considerable pain — it would later become apparent that her disease, which had spread to her liver, was the reason for this distress but we didn’t realise it at the time.

She had a hospital appointment, booked for Wednesday, at the outpatients’ clinic. Instead, they kept her in for observation although she had taken absolutely nothing at all with her in the way of necessities; and she told us — after this change of plan — that she would be staying in, but only overnight.

In fact, with ‘observations’, meeting with her consultant, waiting for the results of tests, and the ‘week-end’ those last days slipped quickly by; at least we knew that she was able to rest and to be properly cared for in a safe environment free from the continual harassment to which she had been subjected at home… Continue reading →