Three-year-old child suffered devastating cardiac arrest and died - the cause remains a mystery
22.02.2023 - 10:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A little boy suffered a devastating cardiac arrest in the days before his sudden, tragic death - and doctors cannot say for sure why it happened.
Blake James Mitchell was a ‘happy and normal’ three-year-old, who loved his days in nursery and loved time playing at home with his mum and dad even more, heard Rochdale Coroners Court today (February 21). The joyful little one had appeared to be completely healthy and was meeting all of his milestones, until he experienced an unexpected febrile seizure in November 2020 and in March 2022.
Blake’s seizures were believed to be brought on by high temperatures which would come on without notice, but his parents were advised by doctors that they may not happen again. Just two months later, Blake had a major cardiac arrest and died days later in intensive care.
READ MORE: Dad at risk of losing sight as eyelid swelled to ‘size of cherry tomato’ after devastating diagnosis
Parents Olivia Thompson and Shaun Mitchell, from Tottington, had learned to monitor their young son’s health after the two scares in his early life. After Blake’s previous hospital stays for his earlier seizures, doctors had ruled out the possibility that his seizures had been brought on by epilepsy.
Instead they believed that the random convulsions were caused by sudden high temperatures. But the couple could never have prepared for his death, heard the inquest into Blake’s death today.
“We just had a happy, normal life, no different to anybody else. Blake was always with us, doing days out and trying new things,” his parents told the court.
Almost a year on, doctors cannot find a definite cause for the cardiac arrest, with no evidence that Blake had suffered another seizure which would have triggered the