Well-wishers raise more than £2,000 for single mother-of-two, 43, after she revealed she had been hospitalised twice due to malnutrition amid the cost of living crisis
- Kelly Thomson, 43, said she eats one meal a day so she can feed her children
- Her doctor says she is ‘underweight’, having lost two stone due to a lack of food
- The mother-of-two decided to launch a GoFundMe, with a target of just £50
- She said she is ‘so grateful’ for the nearly 100 people who have donated so far
A starving single mother says her faith in humanity has been restored after well-wishers raised more than £2,000 in just a few hours to help feed her children.
Kelly Thomson, 43, revealed this week that she was hospitalised with malnutrition twice after eating one meal a day to ensure she could still afford to feed her two children.
She has just £40-a-week to feed her family and said inflation means she fears this winter she might have to resort to begging.
The 43-year-old, from Slough, Berkshire, decided to launch a GoFundMe page this morning, with a target of just £50 set.
And after just a few hours the total has already passed £2,000 and continues to rise quickly – with Ms Thomson saying ‘a weight has been lifted’.
Nearly 100 people have donated so far, with people leaving touching messages of support for the hard-up mother-of-two, who said she was overwhelmed by the generosity.
And she also revealed that one person had volunteered to replace both her children’s worn-out school uniforms, while another pledged to buy her food shop each week.
Ms Thomson (pictured with her 11-year-old daughter) said she has had a weight lifted knowing that she can afford food for a few weeks thanks to the donations
Ms Thomson, from Slough, said: ‘The offers have been crazy, it’s absolutely beautiful.
‘Since the story went out I have had more than 100 messages.
‘I can’t believe the generosity of people. My faith in humanity has been restored.
‘A weight has been lifted off my shoulders because I know now that we can afford food for at least a few weeks thanks to the donations.
‘I could never have dreamt or imagined that this would happen!’
Ms Thomson, who has a son, 14, and daughter, 11, said she was forced to take her children’s birthday gifts to Cash Converters to get money for food.
She said today: ‘I told my son he might be able to get his scooter back from the Cash Converters and the little smile on his face was amazing.
The mother-of-two revealed this week that she had been hospitalised twice with malnutrition after eating just one meal a day
‘I truly thank everyone from the bottom of my heart, from my children and I wish I could thank everyone personally. I am so grateful.’
Office for National Statistics data released on Wednesday revealed the UK inflation rate reached 10.1 per cent in July – well above analysts’ predictions of 9.8 per cent.
It was up from 9.4 per cent the previous month, driven largely by fuel and food prices.
It is the highest inflation has been since February 1982, when the measure was estimated to have been 10.4 per cent.
The 43-year-old, from Slough, Berkshire, said rising food prices have made it near impossible for her to feed herself as well as her son, 14, and daughter, 11
Although Ms Thomson’s universal credit covers her £1,300 monthly rent and a few other costs, she says she has just £160 a month left for all other bills.
The single mum-of-two shared her story in the media this week in a desperate bid to shed a light on the crippling inflation hikes.
She has been struggling to get by since getting long-Covid in December 2020, when she was signed off from her job as a cleaner.
Ms Thomson lost two stone, becoming ‘underweight’ her doctor said, due to the lack of food she eats.
Twice she has ended up in hospital suffering from malnutrition and needed blood transfusions to replenish her depleted iron levels because she cannot afford fresh food.
Her GoFundMe page can be found here: https://gofund.me/f7e01fe5
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