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ITV News - The mum who died in Fear
Essex woman Debbie Storey was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March - and she died last week. Her family claim she had put off getting treatment because she thought it would mean she would lose her sons Ben and Sam. They have Asperser's syndrome, a condition linked to autism, as did Debbie herself. But it was her decision to try to get help for the family that triggered a series of dreadful events. She had turned to Essex social services to get help for her sons at home as they were not happy at school. They were given support, but it led to an assessment that Debbie and her husband Michael were emotionally harming the boys. Ben and Sam were placed on Essex council's children at risk register, and for a long time the family felt desperately close to losing the boys to the authority's care. Eventually, the threat was lifted. But Debbie's mum has told ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Helen Wright it was only then that Debbie revealed she had been carrying another burden - she had felt desperately ill but had been too scared to see a doctor in case an illness meant her sons would be taken away. The back pain she was suffering was in fact the precursor of the kidney cancer that eventually took her life. Her family say while they will never know if an early diagnosis would have saved Debbie, they hope lessons will be learnt. Lisa Blakemore-Brown, a psychologist who helped the Storeys fight to keep their sons, has told ITV News she believes care proceedings were only considered because officials do not fully understand Asperger's syndrome. Essex Council responded to ITV News: "We are aware that Mrs Storey was sometimes unhappy with what we were able to offer but we worked very hard to understand and respond to the complex circumstances of the family." Autism Support: The Autism Awareness message board
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