Mum Pays tribute after Teenager dies of Heart Attack
This beautiful girl is Libby Rose. She lived in the U.K. Last week she received her GCSE exam results. She did amazingly well. A*s, As & Bs. She also had Bulimia. She died on Sunday. She was 16. Her heart stopped beating. Just stopped. No signs. No warning. She was having a great week. And she just died. She is gone, forever because our system in the UK failed her. Failed her parents. Her brother has lost his big sister, and her parents their only daughter because… because WHY??? There is no reason. This is a treatable illness. It is absolutely possible to recover from. This beautiful, amazing girl with her life ahead of her has had her future stolen by an evil disease that kills 1 person every 63 minutes. Her mother fought tirelessly against her daughter’s illness, against the system and did everything she possibly could to save her. Relentlessly doing whatever she could to fix things for her precious baby. How do you console someone and tell them it’s ok, we get mental health, we know how to treat eating disorders, when her baby was allowed to die?? How is this ok? How is this acceptable? How is this fair? How are professionals ok with being so far behind evidence based treatment that they allowed Libby to die? Ignorance? Lack of knowledge? Lack of understanding? Lack of care? Is there even a justification? No. No there is not. Instead of planning what she would study at sixth form, her family are planning her funeral. She LOOKS “normal”.. She doesn’t LOOK ill. She doesn’t LOOK at risk. She was a happy, smiley, much-loved girl. You cannot judge someone’s health on how they LOOK. That cost this amazing girl her life. Please, please, please, fight hard, cherish your loved ones, reach out to those in need, don’t judge, educate yourselves. Do not allow yourself to be in the position of this poor girl’s mother. She did everything she could, and more, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. And it makes no sense. If love could save people, Libby would still be alive today. The only way this will stop is when professionals accept actual evidence based treatment gold standard as the norm. When parents are listened to and actually heard, not blamed. When there is accountability. Not just accepted statistics. When our voices are heard. In memory of Libby, and the countless number of other children (and adults) whom have lost their lives fighting.
