Kasia still part of lives

Diane Ber tragically lost her daughter Kasia in December 2005, when a mobile phone alarm triggered an irregular heart rhythm.

More than 250 friends and family gathered at Peterlee Leisure Centre, in St Cuthbert's Way, for a fund-raising event organised by Kasia's best friend Bhana Baker, 20, a student at Sunderland University.

Diane initially thought that the event might be too emotional for her, but she said: "I was so pleased that I had gone because it felt like it was our daughter's 18th birthday.

"There was just so many friends. She was loved by everybody. She was really so lovely and confident."

But Diane, who discovered after her 17-year-old daughter's death that she suffers from the same condition, claims every day is a battle with grief.

She said: "I feel as if it should be me. It's with us every single day."

Diane has been kept focused by raising awareness about QT syndrome, from which Kasia suffered, and fund-raising for Cry '“ Cardiac Risk in the Young '“ and the Kasia Ber Memorial Fund.

Diane, 44, who lives with husband John and 16-year-old son Christopher, in Brier Avenue, Horden, said: "Me and my husband thought that we would not be able to attend it because we thought that it would be far too emotional for us, and it was just after Christmas, and our daughter died at Christmas.

"We changed our minds at the last minute."

Bhana, organised the event '“ which raised 2,178 '“ along with Kasia's former St Bede's Catholic School friends Claire Lavery, Claire Burlinson, Sarah Graham, Stacey Proudlock, Lucy Foster, and Jade Jepson.

Bhana said: "I miss Kasia a lot. We used to do everything together.

"It helped in a way to do something for her. It's a way for everybody to know that she is still a part of our lives.

"I still think about her every day."

After the success of the party, the total raised by the family to help Cry now stands at almost 10,000.

To find out more about QT syndrome, or make a donation, log on to www.cry.org.uk or email cry.org.uk