Child’s tragic death in Boxing Day op

Jan 10 2009 by Paul James, The Journal

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl died after suffering a heart attack during surgery to remove her appendix.

Paige Young’s heartbroken mother Siobhan, 26, of Cramlington, Northumberland, had been looking forward to her new baby’s birth in February. But instead she had to bury her daughter

Siobhan, her husband, Scott, along with Paige’s father, Craig, gathered with the youngster’s friends and family at Whitley Bay Crematorium to say a final farewell on Thursday.

Siobhan watched her little star dress up in a new High School Musical cheerleader’s outfit on Christmas Day, but had no idea it would be the last time the family would see Paige playing with her favourite present.

Paige was ill with a high temperature and sickness before Christmas, but it appeared to be a stomach bug.

As she got worse, the youngster was admitted to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where she was given treatment for dehydration and diagnosed with suspected appendicitis.

Eastlee First School pupil Paige was allowed home to spend Christmas Day with her family and was due to return on Boxing Day for an operation. Her condition worsened that evening and she was taken back to the RVI.

She had the operation to remove her appendix on Boxing Day, but her heart stopped twice.

Doctors managed to bring her back to life when it stopped the first time, but they were helpless when it happened again.

Distraught Siobhan said Paige doted on her sister Keira, who has her first birthday this weekend, and brother Aaron, six, who was like a twin to her.

She said: “It never crossed our minds that she wouldn’t make it out of surgery. Even when she suffered the first cardiac arrest and they said I should go down straight away, I still didn’t think she wasn’t coming out.

“When they were trying to revive her I was just praying she would come through.

“When they said she wasn’t going to live, it was more shock than anything else. I just didn’t believe it. At first I broke down, then I was completely numb.”

When Siobhan returned to their Cadlestone Court home with Scott, 25, the new toys, which Paige had barely touched, were everywhere.

But the couple were determined to put on a brave face for the sake of Keira and Aaron. “We’ve tried not to cry in front of the kids, we’ve got to be strong for them,” she said.

“When we came back we took all her Christmas presents she hadn’t played with up to her room and wept. Then we laughed because we were remembering all the happy times and that really helped.

“Aaron and Paige were very close. They always played together and went to school together. We told Aaron that she has gone up to the sky and he thinks she is an angel. He blows her a kiss every night, and carries a picture of her with him everywhere.”

A spokesman for the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “This girl passed away despite everything a highly-skilled team of specialist doctors were endeavouring to do to treat what was recognised to be a most complex and sadly life-threatening illness.

“The doctors and nurses concerned are very saddened and have expressed their condolences to the family.”