The couple’s life changed from one moment to the next when the 29-year-old mother suffered a sᴛʀᴏᴋᴇ and ᴅ.ɪ.ᴇ.ᴅ just six weeks after the birth of their first child.
Shannon and Scott Sime moved from the UK to Australia’s Gold Coast in 2012 to start a new life there. Shannon was a hairdresser who loved helping people. At Christmas, she usually donated food to the homeless and gave haircuts to ᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴍs of ᴅᴏᴍᴇsᴛɪᴄ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ. Everyone knew her as a generous woman.
“Shannon is the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” said her husband, Scott, who works as a crane operator.
After living in Australia for 10 years, they saw the time to start a family. On June 22, 2022, their first child was born, a girl named Harlow, who meant the world to them.
Everything seemed to be going well, but a ᴛʀᴀɢᴇᴅʏ changed the family’s life forever. Six weeks after Harlow’s birth, on August 5, 2022, Shannon suffered a sᴛʀᴏᴋᴇ. Although she was immediately taken to the hospital and the doctors did their best, they could not save her. Scott, who was praying for a miracle, was completely devastated when the doctors told him the news of his wife’s ᴅ.ᴇ.ᴀ.ᴛ.ʜ.
Shannon was in the hospital for 3 days before she ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. She was only 29 years old and there was no previous indication that she might have any health problems. She seemed fit and healthy until she unexpectedly ᴄᴏʟʟᴀᴘsᴇᴅ.
Although Shannon can no longer be there for her family and help those in need, she saved five lives as an organ donor. One of them, who received the woman’s heart, would have had only 24 hours left.
The Simes had no family in Australia, but their friends stood by them. One of their friends, Daniel O’Hara, said: “It was extremely difficult. We were very close but lived so far apart – us in Adelaide and them on the Gold Coast.” She also added that Shannon was loved by everyone who knew her.
Scott dreamed of raising their daughter together, and Shannon’s ᴅ.ᴇ.ᴀ.ᴛ.ʜ left him deeply shaken. Still, he was grateful for the wonderful years they had spent together. “She’s made this world a much better place and it comforts me to know how many positive impacts she’s had on people’s lives from every corner of the globe,” Scott said.
Scott also remembered his wife in a touching Facebook post, in which he wrote that he was very happy that Shannon had decided to spend the rest of her life with him. At the same time, he also promised to raise Harlow as his wife would have wanted. The father had to stop working for a while to take care of his daughter.
“It’s incredibly powerful. I can’t even imagine having to organize my wife’s funeral at 29, but Scott did, and basically all by himself,” said O’Hara, who also organized a fundraiser for the family, since Scott will now be unable to work for a while. So far, more than $28,000 has been raised through the fundraising page.
At the same time, many expressed their condolences in heartfelt comments: “She was such a beautiful woman. I met her through the purchase of my hairdressing products,” someone wrote.
“It’s so ᴛʀᴀɢɪᴄ. We take life for granted, but we never know what lies ahead. It’s important to enjoy every day,” said another comment.
