A Sydney mother of three has died after suffering a sudden brain aneurysm while at work.
Elleni Jamal, 42, a creative director who had worked on campaigns for fashion brands including Camilla and Rockmans, began complaining of a severe headache shortly after sitting down at her desk on Thursday. She had only recently started the job.
She called her husband Khaled to collect her. Later that day she collapsed. Mr Jamal performed CPR before she was rushed to a Sydney hospital, where doctors declared her brain dead. Life support was switched off on Friday.
Ms Jamal leaves behind her husband and their three daughters — Amelia, 12, Layla, 9, and Zara, 5.
Despite growing up in a Greek Orthodox family, she was buried on Sunday at Rookwood Cemetery following a funeral at Lakemba Mosque in accordance with her husband’s Muslim faith. A parallel memorial service was held 10km away at St Savvas of Kalymnos Orthodox Church in Banksia, where her photograph was present.
Her father, John Kambourakis, shared the family’s grief on social media: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share news we never imagined we would have to write. Our hearts, along with the hearts of everyone who knew and loved our beautiful Elleni, are completely broken.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by family friend Jeehan Rendell to support the family with funeral costs, living expenses and the children’s future needs. The fundraiser notes that Khaled Jamal is now facing the dual challenge of grieving his wife while caring for three young daughters and managing a large mortgage after the sudden loss of Elleni’s income.