Manel Borthwick was, according to her husband Gavin, “the biggest diva”.
When she walked into a room wearing high heels and carrying a designer handbag – everybody paid attention.
The Dundee-born teacher, mum to Liam, 15, and Lewis, 11, died aged 43 on September 14.
It came after a two-and-a-half-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis – a lung condition with no cure.
Manel and Gavin ‘just clicked’ on Dundee night out
She met her husband Gavin on a night out in Dundee in 2019.
The roofer, from Livingston, was visiting his friend in the city at the time.
It was a whirlwind romance.
He said: “We just clicked.
“We were only together for about a year before we got engaged.”
Gavin proposed to Manel on a walk along the pier next to the Forth Road Bridge, just as lockdown restrictions were being lifted.
The couple were married at Balbirnie House in Glenrothes on May 29 2021, before moving to Burntisland.
Manel became a step-mum to Brooke, 17, Kourtney, 11, and Caleb, 8.
But just one year later, she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult.
Family were ‘optimistic’ about lung transplant
Six months on, she was told she only had “short years” left.
She was put on the critical list for a lung transplant.
It was hoped this would extend her life by seven to 10 years.
Gavin said: “We were very optimistic we were going to make it, because she was so young, and although she had problems with her lungs, the rest of her body was pretty strong.”
Manel was desperate to watch her boys grow up – hopefully seeing Liam graduate university and Lewis turning 18. “That’s what she was working towards,” Gavin said.
But, although two sets of lungs were sent in for Manel, neither of them were determined “good enough”.
“She was very, very close to getting the transplant,” Gavin said. “But it just didn’t happen.”
Sadly, at the beginning of September, Manel’s health took a turn for the worse.
She was admitted to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, where she died two weeks later.
Manel ‘amazing’ during health battle
Despite her depressing prognosis, Gavin says Manel was “amazing” throughout her illness.
She would take daily vlogs, pictures and voice notes on her phone, documenting her health battle.
“With pulmonary fibrosis, you have good days and bad days,” he said.
“Some days you’re absolutely floored, and other days, you’ve got a burst of energy – and she was good.”
Manel was no stranger to hospital visits throughout her life, having been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at nine years old.
She underwent nearly 20 major operations over the years, including getting a stoma fitted.
But these health issues never stopped her from prioritising time with her children or pursuing a career in teaching.
She graduated with a degree in philosophy and religious studies from Stirling University in 2007, before completing a postgraduate degree in teaching at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.
Dundee teacher Manel was the family ‘organiser’
She was a principal teacher in religious studies and philosophy at Braeview Academy for around 12 years before her death.
Manel was known for her leadership skills among friends and family, too.
Gavin laughed: “She was a control freak – not in a bad way! – but she liked to be in control of things.
“And she was really good at it.
“She organised everything in the family – with her dad, her mum or brother, myself – she would plan the birthdays, Christmases, and family holidays.
“She liked to keep on top of all that.”
Manel – daughter of Gillian Todd and Percy Fernando, and sister of Rohan and Louise – was very close to her family.
She also loved travelling.
She and Gavin worked hard to afford two or three holidays away with their children each year.
Gavin said: “Manel just loved going on holidays – that was what she liked doing most.”
Manel organised several holidays before her death
Last year, despite her growing reliance on oxygen, Manel organised a family trip to Disneyland Paris as well as a two-week cruise from Southhampton.
She also had a taste for the finer things in life.
Gavin said: “Manel was the biggest diva in terms of designer handbags and high heels – everything had to be designer.
“She had an expensive taste, she went shopping all the time.”
She was remembered for her glamourous style at her funeral at St Serf’s Church Burntisland on October 1, with mourners asked to wear something “pink and sparkly”.
It wasn’t just Manel’s appearance which commanded attention.
Gavin said: “She just had this big presence where, if she spoke in a room, she was heard.
“She could just walk into a room and everybody would just pay attention to what she was saying or doing.”
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