30-05-2025
ICU nurse at Basildon given just months to live seeks to leave positive legacy
A NURSE is on a mission to spread positivity and help as many people as possible after being given the devastating news she has terminal cancer.
Mum-of-two Yasmin Mui Keng Ellis, 51, tragically has just 18 months to live after being told she has stage four breast cancer.
Despite the impossible circumstances she faces Yasmin, who works at Basildon Hospital's intensive care unit, believes positivity and kindness are the most important legacy to leave behind.
She is now championing resources for parents in the same circumstances and looking to improve support for patients families at the ICU unit where she served as a senior nurse.
Devastatingly, Yasmin was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 before the disease returned again this year.
Yasmin said: 'It isn't easy and there have been days where I feel really down, but as a nurse working in ICU I have seen people die, you reflect and I want to leave a positive legacy.
'I am looking into working with the hospital on support for people waiting in ICU. I have worked a lot with people who are in rehab and I think if the families had more support to understand what their loved one is going through it would be positive.
'Everybody needs help sometimes, and my experience has taught me not to be afraid to ask for help if you need it.
'To put more kindness into the world and more understanding, that's what I try to communicate to my kids and what I want to leave behind.'
Yasmin and her family have been helped through the difficult process by charities, which she said reinforced the importance of asking for help when you need it.
'I think the most challenging part is communicating it to the kids, but I cannot say enough good things about Fruitfly Collective,' she added.
'They provide resources and counselling, but most importantly they do training courses on how to talk about the illness with kids.
'I am a Buddhist and having the chance to reflect and improve even in these circumstances is valuable and it is about spreading positivity and kindness, that's what I try to teach them.'
Yasmin's friends have set up a gofundme to help her create memories with her husband and children.
'You ask how much money would be enough to do everything you want to, we are incredibly grateful to the people who have donated but what's important to me is learning through the journey,' Yasmin said.
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