Jo Ferguson ‘chose to turn life support machine off instead of going sober for six months to qualify for lifesaving liver transplant’ amid health battle before her tragic death aged 46
Jo Ferguson ‘made the decision to turn the machines filtering her blood and keeping her alive off’ last week, leading to her death of ‘liver and kidney failure’ days later.
The stylist instructed doctors at Adelaide hospital to turn the machines off rather than ‘having to spend six months sober’ to qualify for a lifesaving liver transplant, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
It’s claimed that she made the life or death decision last Sunday, which led to her passing three days later on April 8, aged 46, following a four-year health battle.
Tragic: Jo Ferguson (pictured) ‘made the decision to turn the machines filtering her blood and keeping her alive off’ last week, leading to her death of ‘liver and kidney failure’ days later
It is believed that Jo died of suspected liver and kidney failure.
She was placed on a life support machine in March, only to be discharged and then readmitted, after being diagnosed with blood poisoning in late 2019.
Following her discharge from hospital last month, she wrote on Facebook: ‘After being placed on life support a week ago how the body reacts is amazing. Did someone say coronavirus? Wait until you are really sick to cry wolf.’
Heartbreaking: The stylist instructed doctors at Adelaide hospital to turn the machines off rather than ‘having to spend six months sober’ to qualify for a lifesaving liver transplant, according to The Sunday Telegraph
So sad: It’s claimed she made the life or death decision last Sunday, which led to her passing three days later on April 8, aged 46, following a four-year health battle. Pictured in 2010
Jo told the Sydney Morning Herald in January that the blood poisoning was due to a complication from a blood transfusion following a fall down the stairs in 2016.
‘They gave me B-positive and I am A-positive. I had 9.1 litres poisonous blood drained from my body, I was close to death and said I had six months to live,’ she said.
Jo’s health battle began in 2016 when she suffered the near-fatal fall, which saw her withdraw completely from the spotlight, and led to years of complications.
Battle: Jo was diagnosed with blood poisoning in late 2019, due to a complication from a blood transfusion following a near-fatal fall down the stairs in 2016. Pictured: Jo battling in January
She described what happened in a Facebook post at the time, writing: ‘I slipped and fell down 27 stairs at my apartment at 8:20am on a Sunday and knocked myself out immediately, gashing my temple on the stairs and losing four litres of blood.
‘I’d been unconscious for five hours when a friend found me and called the ambulance. I ended up needing three blood transfusions and 38 stitches to the head. I was told I was 20 minutes from death due to the blood loss.’
After the incident, Jo left Sydney and moved back to Adelaide to be with her family.
Jo’s death was announced on Thursday by her devastated brother, Scott.
‘I’d hate for her life to simply slip past now as there were deeper issues that should be addressed, if only to help people in similar situations and prevent others from premature death,’ Scott told The Daily Telegraph.
‘Into the real world’: Jo was placed on a life support machine in March, only to be discharged and then readmitted before her death on April 8. Pictured: A Facebook post from Jo in March