24 October 2023 , 15:56
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An eight-year-old girl has died after collapsing and suffering cardiac arrest last week while at SeaWorld in Florida with her family.
After her initial resuscitation by the Orlando Fire Department, Stella Quinn Dupont was taken to the emergency room at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital. It would later be discovered that the small girl had bleeding around her brain stem resulting in her brain being starved of blood.
Stella died surrounded by her family on October, 18. Shortly afterwards a GoFundMe was started by a family friend, calling for the public to assist in supporting the Dupont family. Since it was initially posted, the fundraiser has raised over $80,000 (£65,000) and has received donations from nearly 1,000 people including the Orlando Police Task Force Group and the Daytona Beach Fire Rescue.
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The fundraiser for Stella's family has now raised over £65,000 (Getty Images)The friend would later provide an update from the anguished mother. “There is absolutely nothing that could have prepared us for the nightmare we have been in since Sunday afternoon,” Ashley Dupont said in a comment on the fundraiser. “Our gorgeous girl, Stella Quinn, suffered a catastrophic event that she did not deserve and no parent should ever have to witness.”
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''Many people stayed with us in the hospital constantly, slept on the floor, and did everything to support Kyle and I while we coped with the unimaginable choice we would inevitably have to make for our girl," Ashley continued in the post. "We have appreciated everyone who has reached out, and every single person who came by to make sure our beautiful Stella understood just how deeply she is loved by everyone who knew her.
The eight-year-old girl (right) suffered bleeding near her brainstem (gofundme)During the girl's final hours alive, Ashley and her husband Kyle spent the time praying for a miracle and staying by Stella's bedside. “We stayed by her side every minute, doing anything and everything we could to keep her comfortable, let her know how loved and supported she is, to let her know that she is such an amazing girl, and that we were proud of her every minute of every day since the moment we found out I was pregnant with her.”
Ashley added that her daughter “will continue to be our brightest star in the sky to guide our family,” revealing that her Stella's name means “star queen.”
"She is our true north. We know she is watching over us and giving us her strength to carry us through the deepest most awful pain we’re ever known.”
“We have appreciated everyone who has reached out, and every single person who came by to make sure our beautiful Stella understood just how deeply she is loved by everyone who knew her," she continued.
“She is truly irreplaceable, and now lives among the stars. We love her endlessly, forever, well beyond the end of time, and we will never be able to get over the immense emptiness in the world now that she isn’t here with us.” This news comes after the Walt Disney World Resort became home to a few tragedies in recent months, with certain guests filing lawsuits against the company following injuries sustained at the theme parks.