A 12-year-old girl tragically died after playing on swings in a park with her brother, sister and cousins. Phoebe Smith collapsed with a burst brain aneurysm as her mum, auntie and uncle sat watching the children play.
The schoolgirl was rushed to hospital, but sadly passed away after extensive surgery. Phoebe's auntie, Victoria Davies, 28, said she didn't bump her head and it 'came out of nowhere', reports The Echo.
She said: "The kids came over and said 'Phoebe is lying on the floor' and at first we didn't think anything of it and asked 'oh, why is she on the floor'?
"We went over right away and realised this was more serious."
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The family has now spoken of their grief and paid touching tribute to 'bubbly, amazing' Phoebe, who they described as 'one of them kids you don't forget'.
Phoebe, from Croxteth, Liverpool, was playing on the swings in Calderstones Park, Liverpool, with her older brother, 13, younger sister, nine, and two cousins on Saturday, March 5, as their parents sat on the grass nearby.
Phoebe's mum, auntie and uncle first realised something was wrong when the children came over to them and said she was lying on the ground.
Phoebe was found unconscious.
They immediately called 999 and the North West Ambulance Service arrived at the scene.
Ms Davies said: "We went out to the park and must have only been there for half an hour. The kids were in the playground for no longer than 20 minutes and we were sat on the grass.
"The kids came over and said 'Phoebe is lying on the floor' and at first we didn't think anything of it and was asked 'oh, why is she on the floor'. We went over right away and realised this was more serious. Phoebe was passed out of the floor unconscious.
"We called 999 and they came really quickly. The staff at Calderstones Park were absolutely amazing."
Phoebe was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and a CT scan found she had a brain aneurysm, which had burst.
She underwent surgery immediately.
Ms Davies said: "For the first surgery she was in for four and a half to five hours to try and remove it [the aneurysm], literally two hours later she was taken back in for another hour of surgery.
"She really fought, she gave a good fight but we got a call from the hospital at 5.45am on Wednesday [March 9] and were told to expect the worst.
"Because everything happened in front of the kids we couldn't hide it, we couldn't let the children not say goodbye to her. We went to get them all after school and at 4.30pm they said their goodbyes."
Phoebe's family were told she had a heart murmur when she was younger, but they said it wasn't an issue. The family said her death came as a complete shock.
Her auntie added: "She sadly couldn't take anymore and gained her angel wings. We as a family are all heartbroken, it is extremely hard. It's hard because there's nobody to blame. She didn't bump her head and it just came from nowhere and was shocking."
She described Phoebe as an 'amazing child' - 'one of them kids you don't forget'.
"Phoebe was an amazing child, she was 12 and autistic and had an amazingly bubbly personality. She would walk into a room and just light it up completely. She was mischievous but in a comedic way, she was always laughing and making everyone else laugh."
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Phoebe's funeral.
Ms Davies said: "We ask for your help to give Phoebe the send off she deserves. As you all know things nowadays aren't cheap and even though we are all supporting each other we cannot pull money out of thin air.
"Any donations will go directly to Phoebe's mum to help with flowers and send off but any remaining donations will go towards helping her immediate family recover after this heartbreaking situation."
To donate to Phoebe's GoFundMe click here.
