'Our happy, healthy daughter told us her belly hurt... twelve hours later we'd lost her forever'
23.02.2023 - 23:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Sitting in the waiting room at Manchester Children's Hospital, Shaun Stirrup and his wife Pip sat inconsolable with grief and shock.
Just twenty-four hours before, their fit and healthy six-year-old daughter, Milly-Rose, had been eating an ice lolly and playing on her Nintendo Switch.
She'd had the day off school after contracting a bug which had been doing the rounds. A few hours later, she started complaining of belly ache and said her heart was hurting.
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Her parents took her to hospital, held her hand as she was hooked up to antibiotics, and discussed what they'd do once she was well enough to go home.
But that day never came. Just a few hours after being admitted to hospital, Milly-Rose was tragically pronounced dead. The cause of her rapid deterioration hasn't been formally confirmed, but doctors believe she was suffering from Sepsis.
Her devastated parents have barely been able to come to terms with the loss of their only daughter, who they described as an 'angel sent from above,' but say the support from friends, family and total strangers has been what's kept them going.
"It doesn't feel real," Shaun said, speaking to the Manchester Evening News. "We woke up in the morning expecting her to be in her bed. She is our only daughter - we put everything into her."
Milly-Rose, who was said to 'love life' and would 'light up any room' came home from school last Tuesday (14 February) feeling unwell. Her parents suspected she'd caught a 24-hour stomach bug which was doing the rounds.
"She started being sick so we kept her off school the following day and she was just playing on her Nintendo Switch doing what kids do when they