THE HEARTBROKEN family of a young York mother whose decision to lose weight for her daughter led to tragedy say they “still expected her to walk through the door” as they faced their first Christmas and New Year without her.

Kerry Greaves chose to undergo a gastric bypass operation last year as she sought to shed pounds and give herself a new lease of life – only for complications which arose during the surgery to cost the 30-year-old her life.

The “devoted, popular and determined” former Burnholme Community College pupil, from Tang Hall, opted for the procedure, which restricts food intake, so her three-year-old daughter Melissa would not be teased at school about her mum’s weight.

But Kerry’s stomach failed to heal after the gruelling 14-operation marathon. Despite the odds of such a tragic outcome being 2,000-to-one, Kerry died from organ failure on July 22.

More than five months on, her mother Anne says she is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her daughter. She said Christmas had brought Kerry’s death into even starker focus.

“I’m just trying to get on with life – that’s what you have to do,” she said.

“We always used to spend Christmas together, and knowing Kerry was not around was something which I knew would really hit me. I’ve just tried not to look back at last year because we miss having her around so much.

“Sometimes, on Saturday afternoons, I think she will still be coming round, but she never does. And when I see a mother with a child in the distance, I sometimes think it’s Kerry with Melissa.

“It’s her happy, smiling face which I miss, and doing my Christmas shopping was very hard, because Kerry always used to help me in that department. It’s just not the same without her."

About 150 people attended Kerry’s funeral, and mourners were told her selflessness saw her help set up a petition aimed at saving her old school from closure, only to die without knowing it had succeeded.

But Anne says she still admires her daughter’s courage and determination to go through with the operation because of her love for Melissa.

“It was her choice and I completely respect that – she didn’t do it for herself, she did it for her daughter,” she said.

“If anything is to come out of her death, I just hope it will educate people and raise awareness about the possible risks, because what happened to Kerry was a waste of a life.”