‘Healthy’ teenage girl Lauren Menzies tragically dies from sepsis

A teenager has died after coming down with what appeared to be a cold. Her condition worsened and she was rushed to hospital.

At first it seemed like the “beautiful” 13-year-old girl had a cold — but she was actually dying from the “silent killer” condition sepsis.

The death of “cheeky and healthy” Lauren Menzies in December 2019 is still making waves, with her family anxious to spread awareness about the life-threatening condition.

Lauren, from Lancashire in northwest England, stayed home from school on December 4, 2019, watching TV. She was sick with what appeared to be a cold or flu.

Schoolgirl Lauren Menzies tragically died after contracting sepsis.

But then her symptoms suddenly worsened.

Her mother Sarah wrote in a blog: “She was well enough to go into school (the next day), although not 100 per cent.”

But Sarah woke up early the next day to the sounds of her daughter being sick.

Lauren again took a day off school and the illness was put down as a stomach bug.

“She spent the day watching Modern Family and moaning about the flavour of Lucozade (her father Chris) had bought her,” Sarah wrote.

The 13-year-old’s heartbroken family are now raising awareness.

Within hours, Lauren’s symptoms worsened to include rapid breathing and confusion. Sarah urgently drove her to the emergency department.

She told the Lancashire Post: “When I took her in, I was worried I was overreacting a bit.

“There was so much (illness) going around, I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary.

“She’d been at her dance class on Monday and a drama production on the Tuesday, so there was no indication it was anything more serious than a tummy bug.”

The nurses quickly understood something was seriously wrong.

“A&E were amazing, the triage nurse suspected sepsis, she was given fluids and antibiotics then transferred to a nearby hospital with a paediatric department,” Sarah said.

“(Lauren’s) mental state seemed to be crashing and she was refusing, or fighting against, the treatment she was being given. The decision was made to sedate her.”

Within 12 hours she was deemed to be critically ill and transferred to the ICU.

The Lancashire teen died of sepsis.

Over the next few days Lauren’s condition stabilised and her family had hope she would get better.

“The amount of lifesaving intervention she required was reduced slightly. It all felt like small baby steps in the right direction,” she said.

“The physiotherapist came round and showed me how to do exercises with her hands and feet. They said this would avoid stiffness ‘when’ she woke up. I happily repeated the wording to my husband later.

“That night I went to bed thinking about the exercises I’d been shown for Lauren, and how I would do them when I went to see her in the morning.”

When Sarah visited the next day she sensed something wasn’t right.

She saw “concerned looking nurses” outside her daughter’s room and noticed Lauren had been fitted to a new ventilation machine.

“The worst thing was the noise. The machine was very noisy, almost clangy. It made her chest move up and down quite violently,” Sarah said.

“Lauren no longer looked like she was peacefully asleep. It was excruciatingly and painfully obvious that her condition had deteriorated from the previous night.”

Lauren Menzies, 13, died days after being rushed to hospital.

Lauren died on December 11, just six days after being admitted to hospital.

Lauren’s family, from Chorley, are raising money and awareness for charity Sepsis Research FEAT.

They wrote: “We want to concentrate our fundraising efforts going forward towards research into treatments for sepsis.

“That is why we have decided to join with Sepsis Research FEAT in their fundraising initiatives: to improve outcomes for those affected by sepsis.”

“Sepsis wrecks so many lives, it creeps in unnoticed and does untold damage from post-sepsis syndrome, loss of limbs and death,” Sarah wrote on social media.

“Not only is more awareness needed, but also more research to help not only the treatment of sepsis, but the long-term effects.”

Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection spirals rapidly out of control, injuring its own tissues and organs which can result in multiple organ failure and death.

About 5000 people die of sepsis in Australia each year.

— with The Sun