Healthy mum collapsed and died while teaching fitness class
Topics: Real Life
Emma Guinness
Featured Image Credit: Cambridgeshire Live
Topics: Real Life
A 'fit and healthy' mum has sadly passed away after she suddenly collapsed and died while leading a fitness class.
Katy Hancock, 32, a mum-of-two from Witchford in Cambridge, had a brain aneurysm as she led the 'bounce' class on 25 January.
The primary school teacher spent a week in the hospital as medics battled to save her life, but they were ultimately unsuccessful and she died on 1 February.
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According to the NHS, a brain aneurysm is a bleed that is characterised by symptoms including a sudden headache, neck stiffness, sickness and vomiting and pain when looking at light.
Her father, Chris Taylor, said that she was in good health and spirits prior to the sudden aneurysm, but she had been complaining of headaches.
He paid tribute to her in a statement where he described her as 'extremely lively and active' and 'incredibly funny'.
Chris told CambridgeshireLive: "She was extremely lively and active and incredibly funny.
"She was really witty, she took the mickey all the time and was infrequently serious about things. "
Katy was a big fitness fan and 'was very, very active', enjoying activities which included skiing, swimming, paddle boarding, and sailing.
When possible, she also involved her children in these activities by, for example, taking them cycling.
As a teacher, her dad revealed, 'she kind of fell into and she discovered she was actually very, very good at it.'
He added: "She was incredibly committed, she had a real passion for it."
A GoFundMe has now been set up to help Katy's children secure their educational futures, and it's already raised over £21,000.
Chris said of the money raised: "It's overwhelming but not surprising because we've had so much support from a lot of things we've done as a family.
"But I've been a little surprised at how many people she touched professionally and socially.
"The outpouring of grief, just people wanting to do something and that was the reason for the GoFundMe page. We thought what else can we do, because people want to do something and this allows people to do something they want to do."
The teacher's legacy is also being honoured by her friend Tonna Eaton and her partner James Cardwell, who are in the process of setting up a charity in her honour - The Katy Hancock Foundation.
It is their hope that it will help people recovering from injury or trauma and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Katy is survived by her husband, Edd, and their two young children, Dylan, four, and Taylor, two.
You can find out more about brain aneurysms from the NHS here.