Cornelia Frances' son speaks of Home and Away star's final days
Cornelia Frances’ son has shared the intimate details of his mum’s last days before she sadly lost her battle with cancer.
Lawrence Eastland described the tender final moments he shared with the 77-year-old Home & Away star, revealing he was clutching her hand as she slipped away last Monday.
“I was by her side, holding her hand when she took her last breath. She slipped away in her sleep, it was serene,” he told Woman’s Day.
Frances first revealed to fans in January that she’d been diagnosed with bladder cancer 12 months earlier.
Lawrence explained to the publication that he “broke down” when he was told the devastating news, especially as the terminal illness left her in agony.
But since laying her to rest in a private service on Thursday, he says this mum is “finally at peace”.
“There was no pain. I feel relieved that Mum is finally at peace,” he said.
The 46-year-old had earlier paid tribute to the iconic actress in a moving post to Instagram, that was accompanied by a photo of Cornelia in her “final resting moment”.
A post shared by Lolly །ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པ ་དྨེ་ཧཱུྃ། (@neonlolly) on May 27, 2018 at 7:07pm PDT
Cornelia herself had been quite frank about her battle, describing herself as “still here” when she opened up about her illness to Sydney Confidential earlier this year.
“I discovered I had bladder cancer. This then spread to my hip bone which fractured, and then I almost died from loss of blood due to an ulcer in my throat. Despite all this, I am still here, as the old song goes,” she told the publication.
A string of Australian stars including cast members of Home & Away — where Cornelia played Morag Bellingham for 20 years — paid tribute to the star last week following the tragic news she had passed away.
Vale #CorneliaFrances. You were always ahead of the game. Will miss your witty banter on-set X
— Lincoln Younes (@lincolnyounes1) May 29, 2018
I met Cornelia Frances when I was 11. I was pretty terrified but she could not have been sweeter and I have always remembered that. Sad day.
— Joel Creasey (@joelcreasey) May 29, 2018
RIP Cornelia Frances
— A. Beaverhausen (@kezzra) May 29, 2018
Now Lawrence is trying to look forward, but admits he will miss his “best friend” greatly.
“Mum was my best friend, we had no secrets. I was so proud of her. I’m keeping a candle burning in her honour.”
Got a story tip? Send it to tips@yahoo7.com.au
Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.