When Toni Crews died at 30 of a very rare cancer, her parents were determined to carry out her last request – and allow a documentary team unprecedented access. Here, they share why filming the dissection of their daughter’s body will benefit so many others
Nestled together on the sofa, in the front room of their home on the Kent coast, Jo and Jason Crews are scrolling through a stream of Facebook comments. The evening before we meet, they’d shared a heartfelt post on a private Facebook page – an update for their tightknit community of grieving family and friends – with the latest news of their late daughter Toni’s remarkable posthumous journey. Overwhelmed with emotion, Jo reads out a few of the responses: “Even though she’s no longer here, this is her legacy,” reads one. “She’s so brave, very giving right until the end,” says another. We’re all firmly in lump-in-throat territory from the get-go.
In July 2020, when she was just 30 years old, Toni died from a rare form of cancer. The eldest of three sisters, she was raised in the house where we are now sitting. In her final few months, it was here that Toni returned to. As parents, Jo and Jason’s loss is unimaginably vast; the love they feel for their daughter clear in every sentence uttered. And yet, somehow, while navigating this deep tragedy, they have also been tirelessly at work, making every effort – however hard it felt at times – to see through their daughter’s last wishes.
