‘This is not us’: Grieving Lisa Curry’s message after daughter’s death
Lisa Curry (right) and daughter Jaimi Kenny in a photo posted by the former Olympian to Instagram. Photo: Instagram/Lisa Curry Photo: Instagram/Lisa Curry
Heartless fraudsters have targeted former Olympian Lisa Curry and her family after the death of her daughter this week.
A grieving Curry has urged people to avoid a fake fundraising webpage set up in the name of her husband, Mark Tabone, that claims to want to support the family.
“Some people! … This is not us,” Curry wrote on Facebook on Tuesday,.
“It’s also sending friend requests. Please do not open anything from this fake account.”
Jaimi Kenny, the eldest daughter of Curry and her first husband Grant Kenny died at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital on Monday after a long health battle.
Her family, who were by her side when she died, have pleaded for privacy after the 33-year-old’s death.
“It goes without saying that this is a very difficult time for family and friends and we trust we will all be allowed to grieve in privacy,” Grant Kenny, also a former Olympian, said.
A photo of the fake fundraising page was posted to Mr Tabone’s Facebook page. Photo: Facebook
Just hours after Curry confirmed Ms Kenny’s death, the fake fundraising page was created. Mr Tabone has also called out the “disgusting” fraud.
“There has been an account created on Facebook cloned as me,” he wrote,.
“We did not do this! I’m reporting to Facebook – it’s disgusting!”
On Wednesday, Curry took to Instagram again, posting another photo with her eldest daughter and thanking well-wishers.
“There are so many messages from so many people and it’s difficult to get back to all of you but in time we’ll try,” she wrote.
“Sadly, I know that we are not the only parents who have lost a child… so to all the parents who have lost a child, and to those who will, today, tomorrow … somehow i guess we get through it.”
She said her family’s grief was immense, and they were working through it. She also had a message for other parents.
“Go and give your children the biggest hug and tell them how much you love them, and do that everyday because you’ll never know if it’s the last day,” she wrote.
The family has not confirmed Ms Kenny’s illness. But News Corp reported on Tuesday that she had battled an eating disorder.
Eating Disorder Recovery Coach Millie Thomas posted a tribute to Ms Kenny on her Facebook page, writing that her heart had been “shattered into a million pieces”.