'I held my little sister's hand as she died cuddling her favourite childhood toy'
25.03.2023 - 12:53
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
“I’m sorry,” Catrin Rhiannon Rees told her sister Bethan as she lay dying in her hospital bed. “Don’t be sorry, just get better,” Bethan replied.
But Catrin wouldn’t get better. She died just days later cuddling the teddy she had loved since she was a toddler. She was 34-years-old.
Catrin, a self-employed dog groomer, was just 14 when she began suffering from paranoia and depression following the death of her aunt.
Her family say she was “convinced people hated her” and would “play things over in her head”.
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At the age of 24, Caitrin, from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, sought counselling and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder, is a developmental disorder.
But Cartin’s mental health really spiralled once the pandemic hit in 2020. On furlough and worried about her finances, Catrin attempted to find a second job but was rejected every time. It was at this point that her family noticed she began to “switch off”.
On the morning of Monday, February 20, 2023, Catrin didn't show up to work. It was later discovered she had taken a drug overdose and was rushed to Prince Charles Hospital.
Despite medical staff's best efforts, Catrin suffered from liver failure. She also went into cardiac arrest and her brain had swelled.
Tragically, she died two days later with her family by her side.
Now in memory of her sister, Bethan wants to raise awareness of Asperger's syndrome and suicide in a bid to help others. Studies over the years suggest that depression and suicide ideation is more common in people with autism than in the general population.
Bethan, a former teacher and a mother of two