Miss Mullen, a waitress from Bo’ness in West Lothian, wants her daughter Harper’s death to raise awareness of sepsis, which occurs when the body reacts to an infection by attacking its own organs and tissues
A girl of three died from sepsis the day after she was discharged from hospital with a suspected stomach bug.
Harper Aitken was taken to hospital after developing a rash, a temperature and a sore throat.
But after a couple of hours in A&E, her symptoms began to improve and doctors believed she merely had an upset stomach.
The following afternoon, however, her lips turned blue and her mother, Lori Mullen, 34, took her to see their GP.
However, Harper was rushed back to hospital by ambulance after collapsing in the surgery waiting room. She died just over two hours later.
‘She woke up with a fever one morning and was dead by teatime the next day,’ Miss Mullen said.
‘She took off her oxygen mask and the last thing she said to me was, ‘Mummy, I don’t like this. I want to go home’.
‘Her brother Cayden did not even get a chance to say goodbye.’
Miss Mullen, who is separated from Harper’s father Andrew Aitken, 41, said her daughter had also been ill with diarrhoea the day before her death.
She noticed a rash on Harper’s stomach and fearing her daughter could have meningitis, called an ambulance.
Harper Aitken was taken to hospital after developing a rash, a temperature and a sore throat. But after a couple of hours in A&E, her symptoms began to improve and doctors believed she merely had an upset stomach
‘The rash was making me panic,’ she said. ‘I knew every minute counted, but she was still responsive. She was drinking lots of water, so the doctors thought it might be a urine infection.
‘After a couple of hours her rash was fading and she was sent home. It was thought she had a tummy bug because of her diarrhoea.’
But the condition worsened, and Miss Mullen phoned the hospital, only to be told she should go to her GP first.
Miss Mullen said Harper passed out at the GP surgery, adding: ‘All of sudden she collapsed in the waiting room. She just flopped in my arms.
‘She was taken straight into a resuscitation room in hospital, then she was taken into theatre.
Her mother described her heartache at having to watch her daughter die at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, near Falkirk, on March 8. NHS Forth Valley is investigating the circumstances of Harper’s death
‘She deteriorated so quickly. I felt complete disbelief.
‘I could not believe this was happening in front of me.’
Harper developed a red rash on her back and a black rash on her face and arm, and doctors told her mother she was dangerously ill.
She was put into an induced coma and a specialist team spent 45 minutes trying to save her life.
But she was pronounced dead by doctors a little over two hours after being admitted to hospital.
Last night, her mother described her heartache at having to watch her daughter die at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, near Falkirk, on March 8.
NHS Forth Valley is investigating the circumstances of Harper’s death.
Miss Mullen, a waitress from Bo’ness in West Lothian, wants her daughter’s death to raise awareness of sepsis, which occurs when the body reacts to an infection by attacking its own organs and tissues.
In rare cases, it can be caused when bacteria enters a small cut or blister. If untreated, the infection may spread to other parts of the body and can kill.
Her mother, Lori Mullen, 34, took her to see their GP. However, Harper was rushed back to hospital by ambulance after collapsing in the surgery waiting room. She died just over two hours later. A stock image is used above [File photo]
Miss Mullen said: ‘The day she died we took her to the doctor at 3.45pm, got to hospital at 4.30pm and she died at 6.45pm. I left with a lock of her hair and never saw her again.
‘I don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s child.’
The Daily Mail has led the campaign to improve sepsis care since 2016 after William Mead, one, died when GPs and medical staff missed the warning signs of the condition.
There were 350,344 hospital admissions for sepsis in 2017/18, up from 169,125 three years before. The total for babies and toddlers has risen by almost a quarter to 38,401.
- Around one in three sepsis survivors will die within a year, a study warns. A quarter have high levels of inflammation a year after leaving hospital and are at higher risk of major health problems. Professor Sachin Yende, of the University of Pittsburgh, whose study appears in the journal JAMA Network Open, said: ‘Our findings about chronic inflammation post-discharge suggest addressing this may be important to improve patients’ outcomes.’
