'Our daughter died hours after saying she had stomach ache - no one told us why'

12 August 2023 , 11:39

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Shaun and Pip Stirrup said they are finding it 'incredibly difficult' to wait for the inquest into Milly-Rose's death (Image: MEN)

The heartbroken parents of a little girl who died just hours after complaining of a stomach ache said they still don't know what caused her death.

Milly-Rose, who was described as an "angel" by her family, sadly passed away shortly after playing the Nintendo switch in February. She would have turned eight years old this week.

Shaun and Pip Stirrup, from Denton, Manchester, told Manchester Evening News they are "still in the dark" as they wait for an inquest into their daughter's death. The parents initially thought she had contracted a stomach bug which had been going around at school, so they gave her the day off.

A few hours later she described pain in her belly and head. They rushed her to A&E at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital but medics didn't notice anything unusual with her observations so they decided to take her home.

The following morning, when Shaun went to check on his daughter on his way to work, he noticed she was sweaty and had become "limp." After being told they'd have to wait three hours for an ambulance, they took her back to hospital where she was rushed to intensive care.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Milly-Rose died just hours after she told her parents she felt unwell (MEN)

Milly was a huge football fan (Shaun Stirrup)

A few hours later, her heart stopped beating and doctors started CPR. They worked for an hour before the decision was made to stop. The time she complained of her belly hurting to her death was just 12 hours. Following Milly-Rose's death, a post-mortem examination was carried out and an investigation was launched by the hospital. But several months on, her parents still don't know why their daughter became so gravely unwell.

Shaun said: "We are stuck in limbo. We are grieving every day but your mind just doesn't stop. It's all day and then at night, you're having nightmares. Sometimes I have nice dreams about Milly but they are the worst because you have to wake up from them."

The parents are now undergoing therapy and counselling for potential Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after their daughter's sudden and shocking death. They say they will have to wait until December to find out if a coroner will hold an inquest into how Milly-Rose died - a wait they are finding "incredibly difficult."

"We are not doing great," Shaun said. "It's my birthday this week and it's just not the same. Milly's birthday would have been Thursday so it's a tough week. After the funeral that was the worst because for most people life goes back to normal but for us that is where it all starts. We still have to go into her bedroom every morning and open the curtains. But we are very lucky as the Denton community have been amazing, as his Milly’s school and all our friends and family."

Since their daughter's death, Shaun and Pip have started their own charity, the 'Milly-Rose Foundation' in the hope they can support other bereaved parents. "With our bereavement team we feel they did as much as they could with what was available but there is no government funding for bereavement services so we want to help," they said.

Milly-Rose's family are hoping to help other bereaved parents (Shaun Stirrup)

"When we went to see Milly in the mortuary afterwards the bedding was very generic so we are going to be donating some nicer bedding. We are also looking into the gowns they provide as these are very generic too. There is foot casting and hand casting but we weren’t able to get this because currently it can only be done up until the age of three and it can take weeks. We are working with a company where the cast can be done in three minutes and go up to 18 years of age. It is really painful for us that we didn’t get to do that so we hope to be able to help someone else."

The bedding and casting kits were delivered to Manchester Children's Hospital this week, with the gowns expected to be finished around October time. Pip is also speaking to hospital bosses about the provision of special bereavement books for siblings and parents who have lost children.

A huge Manchester City fan, Milly-Rose used to play for Denton Youth Football Club. This weekend, the club are holding a charity football game to honour her memory. Shaun has also organised a pool tournament and Pip and 20 of their friends and family are also running the Tatton 10k to raise money for the foundation. "The foundation is the only thing keeping us going at the moment," they said. "It is the only thing that is getting us out of bed."

Monica Charsley