Melissa Kinsella: mum-of-three tragically dies aged 30 after having seizure at airport in Turkey

The family of a mum-of-three have paid tribute to her "beautiful soul" after she tragically died aged 30 after collapsing on holiday in Turkey.

Melissa Kinsella, 30, from Wirral, had been on a family holiday with her three children, Chloe, nine, Beau, four, and Romi, two, partner Jay Smith, and his family, and was due to return to the UK on Monday (15 May). But when the family was about to board their flight home, Melissa had a seizure which caused her heart to stop.

She was rushed to hospital and doctors said she had swelling on her brain and heart. The 30-year-old, who worked as a hairdresser, was treated in intensive care in a coma, and was transported back to the UK by air ambulance on 24 May. She sadly died two days later on Friday (26 May).

Talking to the Liverpool Echo, her parents Michelle Heathcote, 51, and her husband, Steven, 52, paid tribute to Melissa, who was affectionately known as Missy.

Michelle said: "She lived for her girls, she was hardworking, had a dirty laugh and she was such a good mummy. She had so much love for those girls. She was very hard working doing beauty and hair, she was a little whiz kid with the colours.

"She was so clever, she actually went to uni three times, trained to be an accountant but then got pregnant, then trained in nursing and got pregnant again before going back to beauty. She got 12 GCSEs and three and a half A-Levels. She was so dizzy, the girls in work used to call her messy Missy."

During the fundraising campaign to help pay for Melissa's medical costs and get her home, Rebecca Dath, one of her best friends, told NationalWorld: “Melissa is not only an amazing mum but an amazing friend. She’s so hardworking and lives and breathes for her three daughters, aged 9, 4, and 2.”

The day prior to her collapse, Melissa told friends on social media that she thought she might be suffering from heatstroke. She had no underlying health issues.

When Melissa was returned to the UK with no medical notes, staff at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral had to run multiple tests. The family was then told that initial tests showed their daughter had no brain activity.

Michelle said: "It was just so sad, we were all crying - her dad, me, and her sister were all crying. They said they would leave it until tomorrow to give her a chance, but I think I knew then that she was brain dead.

"They told us she had registered to be an organ donor in 2022 with specific parts of her body. Even though it was beautiful, it was so surreal, they said we could come back and see her before she went down [for surgery] the next morning.

"When her dad came in the room the next day she moved, and I went to kiss her on the head and she moved again. Her dad made them run all of the tests again with him in the room, but they said they were involuntary movements."

Rebecca's GoFundMe page attracted donations of over £50,000, but Michelle added that "people are still fundraising to help the girls and to help us give Melissa a funeral fit for a princess".