It was a family vacation that turned into tragedy. Now, three years later, the family of a two-year-old girl who died after returning from Turkey is hoping to finally find out why she lost her.
Allie Brenda Birchall fell ill just after the 10 day holiday in July 2019. She died at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital on 3 August.
Now the case will face a coroner next week as heartbroken mother Katie Dawson, from Atherton near Wigan, is desperate for answers. reports the MEN. The review was opened by coroner Zak Golombeck in Manchester Coroners’ Court in May last year.
The first hearing included brief evidence from pathologist Dr. Melanie Newbould, whose cause of death was encephalopathy and other complications associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) due to toxins produced by E. coli. At the hearing, consulting microbiologist Dr. Vanya Gant, the strain of E. Coli was “almost certainly acquired in Turkey”. dr Gant described it as “a rare serotype not previously seen in the UK”.
Ian Denham, a lawyer representing Allie’s family, told the inquest that other family members also fell ill around the holiday. Mr Golombeck said the scope of the inquiry will be expanded to look at how, when and where Allie was exposed to the E. coli pathogen and whether her death was preventable.
The final hearing at Manchester Coroners’ Court will take place on May 17th. Allie’s mum Katie, 36, said: “The last three years have been the worst of my life. I’m still struggling to accept that Allie left as she was so full of life and such a happy little girl.
“We all got sick around the time of our holiday in Turkey, but we didn’t think for a minute that it would end the way it did.
“Our lives haven’t been the same since, and while we can’t turn back the clock and change what happened, we need answers as to why our princess was taken from us. It’s the least we deserve and we hope the investigation will provide us with it.”
Jatinder Paul, a specialist international serious injury attorney at Irwin Mitchell, who is representing Allie’s family, said: “It has been almost three years since Allie passed away and her loved ones are understandably still devastated at beating her up like this tragically lost. The family had been looking forward to their holiday in Turkey but after returning home Allie fell ill and what they then went through was the worst experience of their lives.
“While we cannot change the suffering they have endured, we are committed to helping them get the answers they deserve and will continue to support them throughout the investigation process. If problems are identified during the course of the investigation, we also demand that lessons be learned from them.”