Thousands raised to give courageous Hartlepool teenager who defied the odds a fitting send off
Thousands of pounds has been raised to give a courageous Hartlepool teenager a fitting send off after she died just weeks before her 18th birthday.
Talia Foster, who defied countless disabilities and limiting conditions since the day she was born, died in her sleep at home last month.
Her mum, Clair Foster, paid tribute to her as “the happiest young lady you would ever meet” adding: “She lived life to the full.”
But Talia is due to be given a very special send off after well wishers donated more than £5,000 to an online fundraiser set up by a close family friend.
A born fighter, doctors initially told Clair that Talia may not survive infancy due to the hundreds of seizures a day she suffered when she was born in August 2008.
In the years that followed, she also tackled epilepsy, brain cysts and numerous chest problems.
Talia was diagnosed with autism, dystonia, which is a movement disorder where the muscles contract uncontrollably, blindness and spent time in hospital with pneumonia and even swine flu.
But she fought back from it all. In 2013 she was named winner of the Hartlepool Mail’s Child of Courage Award.
In 2022, Talia, who was a much-loved pupil at Catcote Academy, came through nine hours of spinal surgery which saw her grow six inches.
Clair, of Brierton, said: “Sometimes parents of children with special needs say they feel they lost a child they never had,” she said. “We have never felt like that.
“I believe Talia was sent to us because we made her happy and she made us happy.”
Despite Talia’s many issues, she was not unwell, making her loss even more of a shock to her family including dad Brendan, brother Callum, 31, and sister Gabrielle, 22.
Clair said: “She left an impression on everybody that met her. People were just drawn to her.
“But we are not allowing the grief of her passing to override everything else. We have found comfort in the happy times.”
The gofundme page started by Gabrielle’s girlfriend, Ollie Thrower, has so far passed £5,200.
Clair thanked everyone who has supported Talia and the family over the years.
Her funeral takes place on Monday, August 10, at St Joseph’s Church at 11.30am.