Healthy and vivacious - Lisa, aged 26, as a bridesmaid at a friend'swedding

A GRIEVING couple have opened their hearts on the anguish of watchingtheir daughter die from the human form of mad cow disease.

Jean and Brian Crowe, of Southview Road, Bromley, saw the CJD virus turndaughter Lisa from a healthy, outgoing woman into a helpless, confusedinvalid.

Lisa, a mum herself, was buried at Beckenham Crematorium two days beforeChristmas after dying in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, on December13.

Last Friday would have been her 30th birthday. The first symptoms ofillness started to show 12 months before she died. The former MalorySchool pupil, who lived in north Wales with partner Sion, 28, and herdaughter Shannon, two, came home last July after falling ill. Mum Jean anddad Brian helped Sion care for her at their home.

The first signs of serious illness were when Lisa started losing hermemory. As the virus took hold she had trouble walking, became confused,was incontinent and became aggressive. Eventually she was bed-ridden andhad to be hand-fed.

Mum Jean, 56, said: "Lisa went about three months before she died.It wasn't the Lisa we knew when she died.

"In six months she aged 60 years.

"You can tell CJD is a man-made thing because God wouldn't havecreated something like that.

"Our reaction was one of angerness and bitterness to start with butnow we are just trying to cope. I think someone should answer for it."

Experts now believe Lisa - who loved hamburgers when growing up -contracted the virus 10 years ago.

And both parents suspected Lisa had new-variant CJD long before it wasconfirmed by doctors.

Mum Jean said: "I asked if it could be CJD. I was told `no'."

At first Lisa saw a GP and was put into a psychiatric unit at LewishamHospital.

Dad Brian, 53, said: "It wasn't the place she needed to be.They weren't hands-on nurses and they just shut the door on her.

"We knew she was dying for months but we thought it was going to bea longer process.

"The Government should admit it made a mistake and set up specialCJD units. They are not getting enough care because they are notdiagnosing it until they are dying.

"I'm sure there's a time-bomb ticking away."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.