A mum has paid tribute after the death of her "perfect" 25-year-old daughter following a suspected epileptic seizure. Megan Gardiner and her unborn son died overnight on June 4 at her Barry home. She was 17 weeks pregnant.
Megan's mum Alison Woolcock has voiced concerns over the epilepsy treatment her eldest daughter received from Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales, which had recently changed her medication. Alison said it was worrying to learn that another pregnant Barry woman, 28-year-old Paige Ellis, died following a suspected epileptic seizure overnight on July 23 after being given new medication by the same hospital. The hospital says "the concerns are being reviewed" but it has not found any "immediate care and treatment concerns".
Alison, 51, described Megan as "full of life" and "a thoughtful and caring soul". She leaves behind boyfriend Jowad Ahmad, father Robert and sister Tesni.
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Robert and Alison's middle daughter Ellie died in 2001 of sudden infant death syndrome shortly before her second birthday. "We've already been through this once and we're going through it again," said Alison. "It's just devastating."
Megan, who was living at the family home, had not experienced a seizure since April. She appeared to be in good form the night before she died, said Alison, who is a social worker and former Barry town councillor. "We were watching a film, I think Mamma Mia, and singing and messing around. She was fine that evening, there was nothing at all wrong with her.
"Robert and I then went out. Meg was talking to her boyfriend and her sister, sending messages on her iPad. They were talking about everyday normal stuff. We got back at about 11.30pm and she was in bed at that point.
"Every morning I'd call her to say, 'Have you had your medication?' I called her at 9.30am and there was no response. Her bedroom was a mess and I didn't see her there. I kept trying to ring her and couldn't get an answer. It was unusual because she was 25 but I'd always know where she was. I thought maybe she had gone into town so I drove through Barry, went into shops, rang her sister.
"I thought I'd check her bedroom one more time and saw what I'd thought was a pile of clothes on the bed. Where she'd had a seizure, she had fallen down between the bed and the wall. I rang the ambulance service and there was a woman on the phone telling me what do, but I knew there was no point."
The paramedics arrived "really quickly" but Megan had died some time earlier. Alison called family members who rushed to the home. "I'm one of five and I have nephews and nieces," she said. "We're all heartbroken."
Megan had battled epilepsy since she was 13. In good periods she would only have one seizure a month but at its worst she could have as many as four in one day. On one occasion she lost teeth after having a seizure in the street. On others she sustained scars on her cheek and eyebrow.
Because her epilepsy was so severe Megan was taking three medications — Lamotrigine, Brivaracetam and Zonisamide. Megan and Alison attended an appointment on May 23 at University Hospital of Wales, where Alison says they were told that there was no risk to the foetus from using Lamotrigine and Brivaracetam but that the research around Zonisamide was not clear.
Alison said Megan took the medical advice of upping her dosage of Lamotrigine and tapering off the Zonisamide. She added: "Meg really wanted to be a parent. She was happy about being pregnant. Any parent told that taking something could harm their baby would listen to that advice. She wanted to do the best she could for her baby."
Alison claimed that one of Megan's recent hospital notes said she had myoclonic seizures, despite her only ever having tonic-clonic seizures. In an email to the hospital after Megan's death, Alison wrote: " Whilst you say her care met the guidance, I still feel like she was not seen as an individual with epilepsy but in more general terms. The fact that the wrong type of epilepsy was written on her notes reinforces that. With the conversation about removing Zonisamide, had they looked at her notes and seen that her epilepsy was not easily controlled and that was the reason that a third medication was introduced? Why in pregnancy would you look at removing that additional medication...?"
Paige Ellis' partner Dan Dredge said he believes a similar change in medication was prescribed for her. The hospital has allocated a consultant midwife to look into the concerns, said Alison.
She added: "We chose for Megan to be buried holding her little boy, resting on her chest. She is buried in Barry Cemetery with Ellie, so the two of them are back together."
Alison got necklaces for Megan's boyfriend, sister and father which have Megan's fingerprint on one side and her baby's footprint on the other. "They will always have something of them," said Alison.
She added that Megan was always "really easy" to parent. "Meg was one of those children who make you want to have more children. You could dress her and she'd be tidy for the rest of the day. She loved Disney programmes and would sing along to them. The first film she went to see was Star Wars when she was two and a half. She only made a noise at the end when she started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
"She was a really well-behaved, beautiful child with big brown eyes and brown curly hair. She was a perfect sister and very understanding with Ellie, who was very rambunctious. When Meg was four and a half, we had to cope with Ellie's death. I can remember saying to her, 'I'm crying because I miss Ellie but I love you and you're always loved.'
"A year later Tesni was born. She was really happy to have another little sister. As any sisters do they argued, listened to music together, went to films. They were close. Meg couldn't drive because of her epilepsy so Tesni would drop her off to her boyfriend and stuff like that."
Megan had a "sweet nature" and would often campaign on social issues. She was passionate about causes like Black Lives Matter and would join protests, said Alison.
"She would often inform herself about things happening in the world," Alison added. "She went on marches and did lots of research. She made a poster with names of 40 black people who had died in America due to police brutality. Meg also helped me care for my dad when he became unwell. When my sister was unwell she helped me support her."
One of Alison's favourite memories of her daughter came in 2020 when they went to a RuPaul's Drag Race event in London. "She bought the tickets as a Christmas present for me, but I had to pay for the transport, the hotel and all the food so her present cost me lots of money," Alison laughed. "But we had a fantastic time getting to see the stars.
"Meg had finished a beauty course at Cardiff and Vale College and she was going to take a year out because she was pregnant, then go back and do the next-level course. She was really good at doing makeup. Her ultimate goal was making sure her epilepsy was stable enough so she could work. The course was really good for her because epilepsy affects confidence and I was really proud of her managing to finish it."
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board — which runs University Hospital of Wales — has issued a statement on the deaths of Megan and Paige. Its spokesperson said “Our thoughts are with the families at this incredibly sad time. The concerns are being reviewed in line with our governance process but due to patient confidentiality we are unable to comment on individual cases.
“Once completed, the investigation findings will be shared with the next of kin and based upon preliminary review we have not identified any immediate care and treatment concerns. We appreciate how difficult this time is for family and loved ones. However, if the families wish to discuss anything further we would ask they speak with their named point of contact.”
Some £7,091 has been raised in Megan's memory for bereavement support charity 2 Wish after Alison started a Justgiving page. You can donate here.
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