A devastated father brought his daughter to A&E THREE times before she was admitted to the ICU where she later tragically died of Strep A.
Little Stella-Lily McCorkindale, five, is the ninth child to die from Strep A in the UK as an outbreak has left parents worried for the safety of their children, reports The Mirror.
Heart broken father Robert McCorkindale, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, says his "amazing" daughter started feeling unwell on the weekend of November 26 with a cold and temperature.
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He said he brought her to the hospital three times in three days before she was admitted, but by then it was too late. Stella-Lily tragically died today as the family is now hoping to raise funds for her funeral.
Mr McCorkindale told the Mirror: "I think she would have had two extra days of fighting.
"They should have tested her for Strep A on the Monday [November 28], by the time they induced her Stella had given up."
Strep A bacteria can cause impetigo, scarlet fever and strep throat, which are often treatable with antibiotics, but in a small number of cases it can result in serious disease.
Mr McCorkindale paid tribute to his daughter saying she was "kind and caring and thoughtful".
"She was a great child, parents came up to me all the time saying they wished their children were like Stella-Lily. Everyone that met her loved her.
"She is amazing. She didn't like it when children played alone and when she is around she was with them. She is so kind and caring and thoughtful.
"She doesn't have any brothers or sisters so she treated all of her friends as such."
He first took Stella-Lily to Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children on November 28, telling the Mirror: "I carried her in because she couldn't walk.
"The doctor looked at me and said what was wrong and I said she is very sick. She then asked why did you bring her [Stella-Lily] here and I was like 'my daughter can't even walk' and I told them everything.
"They asked if I gave her Lucozade and I said 'no she drinks water', and they said she needed the electrolytes because she was dehydrated.
"They put a wooden stick on her tongue and said it was viral and said she just needed to be hydrated with Lucozade.
"In less than five minutes I was convinced I was an overbearing father and I felt bad for bringing my child there."
Mr McCorkindale, who is not in a relationship with Stella-Lily's mother, said his daughter went to her mum's house after their first hospital trip.
The next day she felt worse and they took her in a second time, where he says a doctor helped with hydration but said she was still unwell and they went back home
By Wednesday November 11, Stella-Lily's condition had severely deteriorated.
Mr McCorkindale said: "By 5pm on Wednesday Stella had said 'mummy, I feel like I'm dying'. and so we took her back.
"I shouted at them that we were not going anywhere until we saw a doctor.
"In 15 minutes, this doctor ordered tests and found she had a chest infection and they said 'we think this is toxic shock now'.
"They weren't 100% sure it was Strep A, and they feared it was sepsis too because the blood was infected. The blood culture came back for a Strep A a few hours later."
Mr McCorkindale said that once his daughter was admitted staff went "above and beyond for her".
Stella-Lily also died for five minutes while battling the infection.
He said: "All the doctors on the ICU ward did everything for her, they bent over backwards and treated her like a princess.
"She was a wee bit delirious but she still had her sass when she corrected doctors to say her name is 'Stella-Lily' not 'Stella'."
"By 3am Thursday, her whole body shut down and she died for five minutes and they brought her back.
"They had to keep her in an induced coma to get antibiotics in her."
He added: "The A&E was disgraceful until that Wednesday. They did everything for her, they bent over backwards and there were doctors coming on their day off to try and help her.
"She touched all their hearts. They did everything they could and it just got worse.
"A couple of days later they were going to have to amputate her wee legs and we thought 'okay as long as we can get her out of here'.
"Her pupils changed and they did a CT scan and found she was brain damaged and we thought 'okay let's try and wake her up'.
"And on the Monday it was time to go sleep and they took her off everything."
He added: "The only thing that breaks my heart is that I can forgive the doctor on Tuesday [November 29] because she cured her dehydration and I have no bad feelings for her.
"It is the doctor on Monday night, she had no interest in doing anything to my daughter, she made me feel so small, that I was an overbearing father bringing her in.
I know their job is hard, I know I can't do that job, but if you can't give the same care to the first child you see compared to the 99th child you shouldn't be in that job."
A spokesman for Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children told the Mirror: "We send our deepest condolences to the McCorkindale family following the passing of Stella-Lilly.
"Every aspect of the care Stella-Lilly received is being carefully reviewed. The death of a child is a heart-breaking event for family and friends and in such tragic circumstances we give the family space to grieve.
"Hospital management will be available to meet Stella-Lily's family at a time that suits them. Our thoughts are with them at this incredibly sad time."
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