'I'm raising my two siblings and my own baby at 22 after my mum died suddenly'

Meet the 22-year-old who put her legal career on hold to raise her two siblings as well as her own baby - after her mother's sudden death.

Nicole-Jade Campbell had her world tipped upside down after her mum, Tammy Campbell, suddenly died at just 42.

But she immediately stepped up to care for her teenagers brothers Rocky and Leo Price, 16 and 14 - despite being a mum to her five-month-old daughter.

She took them in with her partner, Daniel Ambrus, 30, a security guard, at their home in Skegness, Lincolnshire.

She has even put a halt on pursuing a career in law to focus on providing for her family.

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Nicole, a customer assistant, said: "I can't put into words the pain we've been through.

"Mum was kind and hilarious, and I could always rely on her. Her death was so sudden and it was hard to process that I didn't get to say goodbye.

"I would've never abandoned my brothers, but it's still a lot to take in that I now have three dependents at the age of 22."

The mum-of-one was six weeks away from her final law exam at University of Lincoln when her own mum fell unexpectedly ill with severe sickness and diarrhoea.

Nicole had encouraged her mum to go to Skegness Hospital A&E after she complained of heart palpitations that left her struggling to breathe.

She said: "Mum was still laughing and talking on the phone, but when I went to her house to check on her she didn't look herself.

"She kept shaking it off as a panic attack but she couldn't stand up nor had any colour in her face.

"I had my daughter Ruby with me so I phoned my cousin and her partner and they took her to A&E to get checked out. My brothers were also at the cinema and I didn't want them to come home to an empty house."

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After tests doctors couldn't find what was wrong with Tammy, a mum-of-three who owned her own cleaning company, and transferred her Pilgrim Hospital, Lincolnshire, to be admitted.

But after arriving at hospital, she fell into cardiac arrest and died 30 minutes later.

Nicole said: "My cousin called me shortly after mum was taken to the second hospital to say she's having a suspected heart attack and to get there now.

"Before I even left the house I got the phone call to say she was dead. I completely broke down and I couldn't stop screaming.

"I called my grandad who helped me break the news to the boys when they came home from the cinema and they poured their eyes out."

A postmortem revealed Tammy had been suffering from a stomach ulcer - which had burst and caused her heart to stop.

After Tammy's tragic passing, Nicole says she went into "protective mode'' and immediately moved her brothers into her two-bedroom bungalow.

But it wasn't until her mum's funeral on April 18, 2023 at Alford Crematorium, Alford, that Nicole "accepted" her new life.

She said: "It was an emotional but beautiful celebration of her life, and that's when it hit me. I know longer had to care for one child, but two brothers who were completely dependent on me.

"I changed our conservatory into their bedroom, but I always thought it was temporary because I hadn't processed that mum was gone forever.

"Rocky has global development delay and was homeschooled so I became a guardian and a teacher alongside being a new mum.

"I'd put my daughter down for a nap, sit Rocky down with maths and English activities and then revise for my exams.

"It was tough to adjust in the beginning, but now I've accepted mum is gone, I can focus on looking after the boys."

Nicole, who graduated from Lincoln University in September 2023, said: "I now work twilight shifts so I can be at home in the day, and my partner works day shifts so he can be at home at night.

"But this is what needed to be done - I would never abandon my brothers.

"I can't believe how strong they've been and I'm so proud of how they are coping. It can be tough as my brother's still see me as their big sister but I've never wanted to replace my mum.

"I'm now applying for legal guardianship and I will take care of whatever they need. When my daughter is at school age, I'm planning to pursue my law career but for now, my priority is my family."