13-year-old Chloe Longster went to hospital with pain in her ribs and cold-like symptoms
A mom pleading with doctors to help her dying 13-year-old daughter explained how she believed they thought the teen was ‘being dramatic’.
A heartbreaking inquest into the death of Chloe Longster, from the UK, has revealed how the schoolgirl was in ‘unbearable pain’ when she presented in hospital.
On November 28, 2022, Chloe was taken to the emergency department of Kettering General Hospital, in Northamptonshire, England, after waking up with severe pain in her ribs and cold-like symptoms.
Chloe Longster died of sepsis at the age of 13 (PA)
That evening she was admitted to the paediatric ward, Skylark, before later being transferred to intensive care where she was intubated, and died the following morning.
Heartbreakingly, the inquest heard that Chloe asked her mom if she was going to die before she passed away.
Her parents believe her death was ‘completely preventable’, as mom Louise Longster told the inquest, which is being held Northampton Coroner’s Court, how her daughter was ‘wincing and squirming’ in pain.
She said: “Chloe asked if she could be put to sleep because it was unbearable. I remember thinking how pale and clammy she looked.
“It’s harrowing to see your own child in so much pain.
Chloe and her mom Louise Longster (PA)
“She was clock-watching constantly – she knew when her paracetamol and ibuprofen were due and it was always delayed. It was like we were chasing her pain rather than getting on top of it.
“Chloe asked me on Skylark if she was going to die. It’s haunting that the 13-year-old was the one that was right. It’s devastating.”
Chloe’s mom explained how she heard her daughter’s chest ‘crackling’ from the hospital bed, which she flagged to a nurse.
She went on to further explain how she felt like she was being a ‘nuisance’ and ‘dramatic’ as she tried to get medical help for her daughter.
Speaking at the inquest, Longster said per the Mirror: “I remember in A&E having to convince them she really wasn’t well… I was not a mum who’d been on Google and she wasn’t a dramatic teenager.
Louise Longster has given evidence at her daughter’s inquest (PA)
“Somebody asked ‘what’s your name’? I said I was Chloe Longster’s mum and they said ‘we know about her and we’ll be round’. I remember that sinking feeling because their interpretation of me had obviously transferred upstairs.
“I went back and messaged my husband and said I didn’t think they were taking it seriously.”
However, Dr Marwan Gamaleldin, who saw Chloe three or four times before she was transferred to the paediatric ward, only believed she had a chest infection at the time.
He added that he ‘did not think’ she had sepsis while he was treating her as she didn’t present with any of the mandatory signs of the deadly illness – high white blood cell count or a fever.
Dr Gamaleldin said: “There are other things I should have started if I was thinking of sepsis, rather than antibiotics. I did not think Chloe had sepsis at this point.”
The inquest continues.
Featured Image Credit: PA
