THE parents of a 15-month-old baby girl who died of sepsis have shared their story ahead of a programme discussing the main symptoms of the disease.
Evie Crandle died in April 2018 two days after being taken to the Whiston Hospital's accident and emergency department showing symptoms of sepsis.
Her parents Sam and Phil Crandle are sharing their story ahead of an ITV programme tonight telling the story of The Crown and Des actor Jason Watkins and his wife Clara Francis discussing how their two-year-old daughter Maudie suddenly died of sepsis in 2011, in a bid to raise awareness of the disease.
Talking to the Star, Sam, 35 and Phil 39, said: “When Evie first died our story was in the papers and Jason was good enough to reach out and offer his condolences at the time, explaining their daughter died due to sepsis.
“It meant a lot to us and we hope by sharing his story it can raise even more awareness of sepsis, as we knew some of the signs but obviously now we know Evie was showing even more signs.”
Recalling the events leading to Evie’s death, Sam said: “Evie was so happy and energetic, never wanted to be still as a baby, so on the Saturday she was not at all like herself, she was lethargic, vomiting, had a temperature of 39.9 and a heart rate of 204.
“We took her to [Whiston] hospital and they believed that her symptoms were that of a urine infection, we knew our child and asked them could it be sepsis, they wanted a urine sample but she had excessive thirst and after hours waiting she didn’t go to the toilet.
“We knew she wasn’t right, Phil was even sat under a sign in the A&E which had the signs of sepsis and states for parents to ask that.
“But they are professionals, we believed they knew best at the time and despite us asking for them to give her antibiotics they sent us home.
“We knew a bit about sepsis before, we’d read about other cases and things like the high temperatures and vomiting, but not enough is known about it.”
After returning home, Evie’s condition worsened and the family went back to Whiston Hospital where Evie received emergency treatment and then transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
However, due to the time that had lapsed, Evie’s condition deteriorated, and she died on April 16, 2018.
Phil added: “It was 15 hours before Evie was given antibiotics which is against NICE guidelines.
“We had to stay in Ronald Macdonald House as we couldn’t face coming home to an empty house with all Evie’s things as she left them.
“We knew a bit about sepsis, but if we knew then what we know now we would have pushed for them to look again, fight for other opinions and recognised other symptoms we only learned about at her inquest.”
The couple, who have since gone on to have two more daughters, Mia, four and Lily, two, added: “The only positive thing we can take from this is to make others aware of the dangers of sepsis. That’s really important to us.
“Sepsis can affect anyone, not just children. But if you know the signs to look out for it can save lives.
“We were told that if it had been correctly diagnosed and treated at the first presentation, then 48 hours later Evie would have been mostly recovered with no lasting effects.
“Sharing our story to our few friends on our Facebook accounts has already made a difference as we’ve had people get in touch to say they felt these symptoms they excused away but because of Evie’s story they went into hospital and got diagnosed and treated.
“That’s why what Jason and Clara have done with this programme is so important, using his platform to empower people to question medical staff, have this information in the back of your minds and know it could make all the difference.”
Jason and Clara: In memory of Maudie, airs tonight Thursday, March 30 at 9pm on ITV.
For information on Evie’s inquest, which concluded in 2019, click here
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