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Dave’s Tribute

The father of a 'loving daughter who never stopped laughing' has paid tribute to her after she passed away aged 22 from the coronavirus.

Philippa Louise Raper sadly lost her life at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby after her battle with the coronavirus on Monday, April 20.

She had a number of health complications after being diagnosed with borderline hydrocephalus while in the womb.

This led to her having to eat via a tube going into her stomach from three-and-a-half years old, as well as being wheelchair bound.

Philippa also developed a lung disease in 2008, spending the rest of her life on supported oxygen

She was born on September 20, 1997, and lived in Camblesforth, near Selby, for several years, before moving to Laceby with her mum.

Despite the health issues she had, her dad, David Raper, said that she 'never stopped laughing', and was enjoying her life over the past few years.

He said: "Philippa has been on supported oxygen for the past 11 years, but over the past few years she has been living happily.

"She was one of the people who had to self-isolate, but unfortunately she ended up catching it and sadly passed away.

"I live over in Bradford with my partner, and Pippa visited me for a few days until March 22, the day before the lockdown got put in place.

"It was actually the longest I've been without seeing my daughter for a very long time, and she ended up catching it and passed away before I made it to the hospital to see her, I'm just heartbroken.

"When her mum was pregnant with her, she was diagnosed with borderline hydrocephalus, and we were told then that she may not have a normal life.

"When she was a baby she was struggling to eat and they ended up having to put a tube in her stomach to feed her, and she was fed like that from about three-and-a-half years old.

"Then, in 2008, she was really ill again, and was taken to Leeds hospital and needed a ventilator, and she had been on supported oxygen ever since.

"She could still go everywhere though, she'd just take her oxygen with her and just had to make sure her tubes didn't get caught on anything.

"She loved to travel, she visited over 10 countries in her life, including seeing the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Indian ocean in Australia.

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