Weymouth: Tributes paid to 23-year-old Ollie-Louise Isbell

Ollie-Louise Isbell defied all the odds as she bravely fought cancer over the past year - after being told she wouldn’t make it to her daughter's first birthday.

She was declared cancer free just before Christmas, but she sadly passed away on Monday, April 1.

Ollie was the mum of 16-month-old Harper, who she referred to as her 'absolute world.'

Jackie Isbell, Ollie's mother, said her daughter would spend days baking and crafting with little Harper, although ‘just seeing Harper would be enough to put a big smile on Ollie’s face.’

“Harper was her life," Jackie said. "All she wanted to do was be here for Harper.

"She loved sunflowers and the colour pink and when she was younger, she absolutely loved swimming and even won a trophy for the most improved swimmer.

“She was heartbroken when she had a PEG line fitted ( A feeding tube through the skin and the stomach wall), because it meant she couldn’t take Harper swimming.”

Ollie pregnant with Harper (Image: o)

Ollie had three brothers, Luke, Aidan and Dan and two sisters, Ashleigh and Keara, who she gifted a heart necklace to, which had a larger heart in the middle to represent her as the middle sister, and two interlinking hearts to represent them as a way to remember her.

Ollie also adored animals and had her own pony growing up, and in later life had three cats of her own, which her mum is now caring for.

She also had two nephews who she would often take to the Palm House Café and just two weeks ago she visited with her own daughter.

Jackie said: “We used to take her nephews to the Palm House, and we went down there two weeks ago with Harper – we went for lunch and then I took her shopping. Every bit of money she had she would spend on Harper - she spoiled Harper rotten.

“Ollie’s memory will be kept alive in Harper.”

As a child, Ollie attended Bincombe Valley Primary School, before heading off to Wey Valley school and she also did martial arts at Matt Fiddes Martial Arts.

Ollie in her prom dress (Image: Jackie Isbell)

Ollie loved her job working with adults with special educational needs, which she did until it was time to take her maternity leave.

Her mum said: “She had a few jobs, but she really found her calling with special needs adults.”

Ollie’s cancer battle started when she was 22, and it took more than 12 weeks and multiple visits to her GP and to A&E to diagnose her with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (DLBCL).

Following the birth of her daughter, Ollie lost five stone in weight and started getting severe stomach pain and was also told:  'It just sounds like you’re not coping with being a mum.'

But despite everything thrown her way, she overcame it.

Ollie’s mum also spoke of the impact that her daughter had on the lives of others saying that ‘wherever Ollie would go, she would make friends. She would talk to everybody and loved kids and animals.’

Ollie and her mum Jackie (Image: Jackie Isbell)

One of her favourite musicians was Australian singer songwriter Sam Fischer and one week she managed to make it to four of his shows.

She loved switching up her hair colour and her mum said: “Ollie used to say to her nephews ‘what colour do you want my hair to be and if they said blue it would be blue, if they said green, it would be green.’

Ollie with pink hair (Image: Jackie Isbell)

Jackie is now fundraising to help with the funeral costs after Ollie’s sudden death and at the time of writing has raised £3,430 of an £8,000 target.

If you would like to donate to the fundraiser, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/yscyss-for-funeral-costs?utm_campaign=p_cp+fundraiser-sidebar&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer.

Hardys Hophouse in Weymouth is also fundraising for the funeral and any additional money will go to Ollie’s daughter Harper for the future.

They are currently collecting raffle prizes for a fundraising evening with live entertainment on Friday, April 26.