Aussie couple's warning after daughter dies 'suddenly from brief illness'
Milla Foster's dad and step-mum are urging parents to listen to their instincts.
An Aussie couple have issued a warning to other parents after their 12-year-old daughter died just two days after being diagnosed with a highly-common infection.
Milla Foster’s dad Shannon Foster and step-mum Phoebe Kelly took the young girl to Kaunda Hospital, about an hour north of Adelaide, on October 17 after she started experiencing mild stomach problems.
There she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis — a rarely fatal viral infection that causes vomiting and diarrhoea — and given medication before being sent home about an hour-and-a-half later, Shannon told 9 News.
Although it appeared her health was improving, the couple say their daughter died suddenly on October 19.
“You don’t think that gastro can potentially kill — especially someone so young and so healthy,” Phoebe said, urging other parents not to dismiss their gut instincts. “Even if the doctors say you might be paranoid or if you’re just over-cautious — just listen to it, because it’s there for a reason.”
Shannon told the publication he has received many heartfelt messages from the 12-year-old’s friends, and is still “waiting to wake up and just see her”.
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The heartbroken dad has created a GoFundMe to help give his “really good girl” a lovely send-off.
“We lost our Beautiful 12-year-old daughter Milla Foster suddenly from a brief illness,” he wrote on the fundraiser. “We have been deeply impacted by her loss and are reaching out to anyone within our community to help us with the unexpected funds we will be facing within the next week or so.
“We miss you so much Milla and love you always and forever. Her memory will live on through her mother Denise, her father Shannon, her step-mother Phoebe, and her four siblings Jayden, Zarlia, Jackson, and Brooklyn.”
So far, friends, family and the local community have helped raise more than $22,000.
SA Health Minister Chris Picton promised 9 News that Kapunda Hospital and SA Health will fully co-operate with a coronial investigation.
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