A grieving mum whose "happy and healthy" toddler went to bed one night "with the sniffles" and suddenly died of a rare brain condition, has inspired authors around the world to create a charity anthology in her daughter’s memory.
When Tara Lyons, 37, and Daniel O’Sullivan, 34, put their 15-month-old, Sofia Lyons-O’Sullivan to bed with the sniffles in April 2020, they thought she was just teething. They didn’t imagine for one moment that this would be the last time they ever tucked her in.
But at breakfast-time the next morning, as they tried to coax her to eat some toast, the tot’s head dropped forward without warning – and her horrified parents realised she couldn’t open her eyes.
Distraught, Tara, who is a production editor for a publisher, and Daniel, a warehouse manager, rushed Sofia from their home in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, to hospital, where just hours later she fell unconscious and never woke again.
Despite never showing any symptoms, Sofia had suffered from a rare and unsuspected brain condition called Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) – an abnormal connection between the arteries to the veins which disrupts the normal circulation of blood.
Approaching what would have been Sofia’s third birthday last December, Tara felt an overwhelming urge to create something in her memory. She resolved to create a charity Christmas anthology, filled with young-adult mixed fiction short stories, penned by a host of renowned authors to raise awareness of the cruel condition.
Titled Written In The Stars and due to be published by Bloodhound Books next month, Tara, who also shares a son Leo, nine, with her partner, said: “Sofia went to bed a happy and healthy baby on the Monday night. By the Tuesday afternoon, she was unconscious.
“I never got to see her beautiful blue eyes again. I walked into the hospital with my one-and-a-half year old, and left with a box of memories.”
Speaking about the moment she decided to create something in her daughter’s memory, Tara said: “I remember going to pick up balloons my friend had made for Sofia which said Happy 3rd Birthday, to place at her graveside, and it took my breath away.
“I only had one birthday with her. I couldn’t understand how it was her third.
“I was heartbroken. I knew then that I wanted to do something good in her memory.”
She added: “Seeing the anthology now, that I have created and put together myself, is so special. The cover of the book has a little girl reaching for the stars and it looks like Sofia, in such a gentle and sweet way that was just like her.”
Despite Tara suffering with some gestational diabetes through her pregnancy, from the moment Sofia was born, there were never any problems. “She was such a lovely and happy baby,” Tara said.
“Over the year and a half of her life, she met all her milestones and her weight was fine. She was crawling, walking, saying a few words, and had never been to hospital.”
Sofia was usually busy making those around her smile or making mischief with her older brother, Leo. Tara said: “She was so beautiful and gentle and she always had her wispy hair pulled into a little Bam Bam ponytail.
“Even though some people don’t think they have personalities at that age, she really did. She was so funny and cheeky and sassy.”
She added: “She was the biggest Moana fan She would sit and watch the whole film and screw up her face at the bad character or smile with the good characters.
“If she ever spotted Leo with the Milky Ways, she would be right after him for them. Whenever I watch a video of Sofia, she is always laughing at something Leo is doing.”
While the world went into lockdown in March 2020, life had seemed almost perfect for the family. Tara said: “We were actually loving the first few weeks of lockdown because we had just moved from a two-bed flat to our new three-bed house with a garden and we had all this space and time together as a family."
But on April 7, 2020, the family’s lives changed forever. Tara said: “The day before, on the 6th, Sofia had been fine but she had a little bit of a stuffy nose, so we thought maybe she was teething.
“She slept really well and in the morning she seemed fine. But when Daniel came to take her for breakfast, she didn’t want her toast.”
She added: “When he handed her to me, her head just dropped forward and she had no strength and her eyes weren’t opening.” Tara and Daniel called an ambulance and Sofia was taken to hospital.
She said: “Sofia was sat on my lap. The doctor came in and said that they need to give her some antibiotics.
"But then I looked at her and it was like I saw her take her last breath. I started screaming.”
Rushed off to intensive care, doctors worked hard to stabilise the tot’s condition, but she was still unconscious. Transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, Sofia underwent a number of tests to understand what had happened.
Tara said: “They kept asking me if she had ever had any seizures or any speech issues or eye issues but she had nothing. They were so shocked.”
After a day in hospital, Sofia went for a CT scan. This revealed she had suffered a brain AVM.
“Everything was a blur. They kept saying to me that she was really not well but I just kept thinking she would be okay,” Tara said.
“We were a normal family of four stuck in lockdown and then two days later my daughter is lying on a bed in life support. You never want your child to have seizures or be in pain, but if she had, there would have at least been a sign.
“When they gave her the CT scan, they had to shave some of her hair off and I thought, that’s her first haircut.” After further tests and an attempt to relieve the pressure on Sofia’s brain, the doctors confirmed the worst – that there was no hope of survival.
She said: “There was too much damage on Sofia’s brain, she had a bleed on the brain and an aneurysm. I felt nauseous and sick.
"My head was swimming with information. There was so much to digest, let alone the fact you’ve just been told your daughter is not coming out of this alive.”
Tara added: “I didn’t want to leave the room because I knew once we did, we would have to face the truth.” On Easter Sunday, six days after Sofia was first taken to hospital, her life support was turned off.
Coming back home that day without Sofia, Tara and Daniel had to explain to her brother, then seven, that his little sister wasn’t coming home. “We all just stood in the kitchen and hugged and cried together,” she said.
In many ways, the lockdown acted as a blessing for the family, giving them time to privately grieve. She said: “It was like the world closed down for Sofia and we didn’t have to worry about other people.
"We just did what we needed to do and had time to be alone or cuddle together and grieve.” Approaching what would have been Sofia’s third birthday, Tara felt overwhelmed with emotion.
Tara said: “Sofia’s birthday is December 13, the day after Leo’s on the 12th. So it is always really hard to celebrate one day, knowing the next, she is not there to celebrate with.
“I wanted to get a Happy Birthday balloon for her and when I went to pick it up, it took my breath away. I only had one birthday with her, how can it be her third?
“I knew I wanted to do something. So I spoke to Bloodhound Books, where I work and said I wanted to do something in her memory that is good.”
Coming up with the idea of a charity anthology for Christmas – the same month as Sofia’s birthday – Tara requested authors to share short stories. She was stunned by the response.
“We had nearly 100 submissions, I was overwhelmed. When I told Daniel how many people had sent things in, he was really moved.”
The authors of the 23 stories include crime fiction writers Angela Marsons and Joy Ellis. Other contributors are novelist Louise Beech and a touching foreword by Tara, introducing the book in Sofia’s memory.
Now due for an early release next month ahead of Christmas, Tara hopes they can help spread awareness of brain AVMs and raise money for The Butterfly AVM Charity and Great Ormond Street Charity. Tara said: “Creating this anthology pulled me out of a really dark spot.
"It means so much to know there will always be something out there in Sofia’s memory. And if it helps someone who has gone through what we have gone through, then that is amazing too.
"Brain AVMs are not widely known at all and if I can help raise awareness as well as money for two amazing charities, that would mean the world. I just want Sofia to be remembered as my Moana - a loving, beautiful girl.”
You can donate to Tara’s fundraiser in memory of Sofia here. You can pre-order Written in the Stars here.
