A “HEALTHY” high school student died just days after being admitted to the hospital with a silent killer disease.
Lauren Menzies, 13, had been relaxing at home with her family like any other day, but she was fighting for her life within 12 hours.
In the days that followed, the Lancashire teen died of sepsis.
Lauren’s family is now working to raise awareness and funds for research into the condition, which kills hundreds of people each week.
Chris and Sarah, her parents, have bravely recounted how tragedy struck in December 2019 – and how quickly the 13-year-old deteriorated.
Sarah dismissed the girl’s symptoms as a “tummy bug” when she began feeling queasy and breathing rapidly.
“When I took her in, I was worried I was overreacting a little,” she told the Lancashire Post.
“There was so much (illness) going around, I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary.
“She’d been at her dance class on Monday and a drama production on the Tuesday, so there was no indication it was anything more serious than a tummy bug.
“She’d stayed off school and was on the settee, moaning about the flavour of Lucozade her dad had got her.
“I wasn’t concerned, but then she started breathing a bit fast and seemed a bit confused.
“Then she went downhill so quickly. When we got to A&E she walked up to the counter and was talking to the woman there. Then while we were sat there she deteriorated. She got more confused, she was giving people hugs, weird stuff.
“When she was being triaged, she was asked her date of birth and got confused over the month.”
Six days later, Lauren died.
Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection rapidly spirals out of control, injuring its own tissues and organs, leading to multiple organ failure and death.
In the United Kingdom, five people die from the infection every hour, making it a more lethal killer than bowel, breast, and pancreatic cancer combined.
Lauren’s family from Chorley is raising funds and awareness for the Sepsis Research FEAT charity.
“We want to focus our fundraising efforts in the future on research into treatments for sepsis,” they wrote.
“That is why we have decided to join with Sepsis Research FEAT in their fundraising initiatives: to improve outcomes for those affected by sepsis.”
