A mother, desperate for medical intervention for her critically ill 13-year-old daughter, shared her belief that doctors dismissed the teenager’s condition as mere dramatics.
The tragic inquest into the passing of Chloe Longster, a young girl from the UK, has unveiled that she was in ‘unbearable pain’ when she sought help at the hospital.
On November 28, 2022, Chloe was rushed to the emergency department at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire, England. She had woken up with intense rib pain and symptoms akin to a cold.
Later that day, she was admitted to the hospital’s paediatric ward, Skylark, before being moved to intensive care where she was intubated. Tragically, she passed away the next morning.
In a heart-wrenching moment, the inquest revealed that Chloe asked her mother if she was going to die before her death.
Her parents assert that her death could have been avoided. Chloe’s mother, Louise Longster, testified at the Northampton Coroner’s Court inquest, describing how her daughter was ‘wincing and squirming’ in severe discomfort.
She recounted: “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.
“She was clock-watching constantly – she knew when her paracetamol and ibuprofen were due and it was always delayed. It felt like we were chasing her pain instead of managing it effectively.
“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 mother also described how she noticed her daughter’s chest was ‘crackling’ and brought it to a nurse’s attention.
She expressed feeling perceived as a ‘nuisance’ and ‘dramatic’ while advocating for her daughter’s medical needs.
During the inquest, Longster stated, according to 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.
“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.”
Conversely, Dr. Marwan Gamaleldin, who attended to Chloe multiple times before her transfer to the pediatric ward, initially diagnosed her with a chest infection.
He explained that he ‘did not think’ she had sepsis since she lacked the typical symptoms, like a high white blood cell count or a fever.
Dr. Gamaleldin stated: “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 is ongoing.