THE family of a “caring and giving” York teacher who has died, aged 32, have paid tribute, saying she refused to let a rare heart and lung condition stand in the way of the job she loved.
Jessica Marie Thompson was so determined not to let her condition affect her work that she ensured her hospital treatment was scheduled for school holidays, to avoid having to take time off.
She was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension – a narrowing of the blood vessels around the lungs which causes blood pressure to increase – six years ago, eight months before she was due to complete her teacher training in York.
Doctors advised her to put her studies on hold but Jessica, from Linton Street off Poppleton Road, continued the course and taught at Fulford School for a year before going on to teach English literature at Huntington School.
Her husband Steve said she “lived for” the job, adding that Jessica loved teaching children and would spend hours of her own time preparing lesson plans.
Her family described her as somebody who “led the way” and “fought her illness right to the end”.
Jessica was born with haemolytic anaemia, a condition which affects red blood cells. Her spleen was removed when she was 15, by which time she had moved to York from her Bridlington birthplace and was excelling in her studies at Tadcaster Grammar School.
Steve, who married Jessica in 2003 – five years after they met while working in neighbouring shops in Copmanthorpe – said: “She was just one of those people who always put others first.
“She was so popular and made friends so easily, and she always kept in contact with everybody she met. She was just so caring and warm and she meant absolutely everything to me – we did everything together.”
Jessica’s father, Alan Allison, said she was so devoted to Steve that, while he was in America for a fortnight after they began dating, she “cried into her pillow every night”.
Mr Allison said: “She couldn’t bear to be apart from him.”
Parents Teresa and Alan, of Barbers Drive, Copmanthorpe, said Jessica’s health began to deteriorate last December and she spent her final days in St Gemma’s Hospice, Leeds, where she died peacefully on February 4, surrounded by her family.
Teresa described Jessica as a “fun-loving character”, who in her spare time loved listening to music and going to festivals with sister Lisa, and enjoyed the cinema, reading, and most of all socialising with her many friends. She adored animals and treasured her cat, Tiger.
Lisa and brother Ben said, Jessica, the eldest of the siblings, was “always there for us”.
Lisa, 29, said: “She was a really good big sister. She just led the way really. She always put everyone first. She was really determined and fought against her illness right until the end.
“She did not like to talk about it and did not like anyone else talking about. She just got on with it. Whatever she put her mind to, she did.”
The funeral was taking place today, at 11.40am, at York Crematorium. Family flowers only, but donations can be made in lieu to St Gemma’s Hospice and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
‘One of the loveliest human beings’
JOHN TOMSETT, Jessica’s head teacher at Huntington School, said she was “one of the loveliest human beings you could ever wish to meet”, and said teachers and pupils alike had been affected by her untimely death.
He said: “In spite of challenges she faced she was always very sunny and optimistic about life.
“She was an inspirational teacher and I learned a lot from her. She was kind of just sunshine really. She was really, really loved by people.”
Jessica’s family would like to thank the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, and St Gemma’s Hospice for the care they provided for Jessica.
They would also like to pass thanks to all their family and friends for the many letters, flowers, text messages and words of well-wishes they have received since Jessica died.
A deadly condition
PULMONARY hypertension (PH) is an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, or pulmonary capillaries, together known as the lung vasculature, leading to shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and other symptoms, all of which are exacerbated by exertion.
PH can be a severe disease with a markedly decreased exercise tolerance and heart failure.
Symptoms, such as coughing up blood, shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling around the ankles and feet may develop very gradually. The Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK says the condition often goes undiagnosed because of symptoms similar to asthma.
One of a kind
JESSICA Thompson lived for her job as a teacher. So much so that when she needed hospital treatment to help contain a rare heart and lung condition, she would only entertain it during school holidays.
Doctors advised Jessica to take things easy, but that wasn’t her way. Now the pupils who were lucky enough to have had her as their English teacher have lost her. So has her husband, Steve, to whom Jessica meant everything. And sister Lisa says she just got on with things, whatever she put her mind to, she did.
Jessica Thompson was one of a kind. She will be missed by many.
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