A mum from Newtownabbey is fighting for heart tests for every child after her teenage daughter died from a heart attack last year.
Marie Murray's daughter, Dearbhail Harrison, died on June 5, 2021 - just two weeks after her 16th birthday. Dearbhail was diagnosed with a heart condition six years before her death, and had been attending the Royal Victoria Hospital's Heart Clinic.
After Dearbhail's tragic death, Marie has launched a petition to campaign for standardised heart checks for all children.
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Marie told Belfast Live that Dearbhail first complained of an irregular heartbeat when she was just 10-years-old.
"My wee daughter came to me when she was 10, she was in P7. She complained about being able to hear her heart thumping in her ears and saying it was thumping out of her chest," Marie explained.
"I said I would bring her to the doctors, because that's not right. The doctor referred her to the Royal.
"They put a heart monitor on her, then we got an appointment to go back again to get the results and they said she had extra heartbeats. They said she would either grow out of it or learn to live with it.
"They didn't come back to us for another two years. They sent out a letter for her to do a stress test, and they didn't tell us that was getting worse."
Marie described her daughter as "super intelligent." A student at Dominican College Fortwilliam in North Belfast, Dearbhail was a star pupil who achieved an A* in her art GCSE.
One of her pieces of artwork is now framed and on display in the school's foyer.
"I'm not just saying it because she's not here, but she was super intelligent," Marie said. "So when they told her she would learn to live with it, she took that face value, as you do when your doctor tells you something.
"I had her later in life, when I was 44. We used to think God gave us her as a wee blessing, and I can't understand why she was taken away again then. She had her whole life ahead of her."
Marie is now hoping her campaign is successful and heart checks for children will be as standard as dental check-ups.
The mum-of-four said: "I'm not doing this for me, it's too late for me. I'm doing this to pray and hope that I can save at least one life, and one set of parents' grief.
"It's as if doctors think, 'Oh you're only a kid, you're healthy.' You might look healthy, but that doesn't mean you are.
"From my daughter died I have heard of three other children who have passed away from heart attacks. They were all young teenagers and God only knows how many children die every year.
"I can’t understand why children don’t get their hearts checked. They get their eyes and hearing checked but not their hearts.
"Every single child in this country should be being checked. For what it would take to put on a hear monitor and an echo scan; that's all that's needed. Then they'll know whether there's kids with extra needs, instead of just telling them they'll be grand."
You can sign Marie's petition HERE.
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