Aussie teen's selfless act hours before her death from meningococcal
An 18-year-old woman who lost her life from meningococcal disease after attending a music festival in Canberra has been hailed for her selfless act in the hours before she died.
Ally Behan from Manyana on the NSW South Coast had attended the Spilt Music on November 26 before she fell ill with the deadly disease a few days later and died shortly after that.
She was the third person to die of meningococcal in NSW this year, NSW Health said on Monday.
While her family prepared to say their ultimate goodbyes, a decision was made to reflect Ally’s caring nature.
“Ally liked to help people and did just that in her final hours by providing the amazing gift of donating her organs which have gone to save the lives of five different people, one of which is a young child,” her family said in a statement to Nine News.
‘Five lucky people get a lifesaving part of her’
Ally had only just turned 18, completed her HSC at Ulladulla High School and attended her final year formal. She had been applying for university and was preparing to move out of home and in with friends when she became unwell.
The teen, who was known for her “love for adventure”, is now being remembered as a bright spark full of life who was “always there for anyone, providing love and support when needed".
“Ally was young, energetic and loved her family and friends,” her family said. “She was beautiful, both inside and out, she loved to laugh and enjoyed some banter.”
“Ally was very close to her mum, dad and her older brother. Family was important to Ally, who was just as close to her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, who were always there for a cheeky 4am phone call.”
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One of Ally’s cousins took to Facebook to share her loss and pay tribute to the 18-year-old.
“I don’t have the right words to express the devastation this last week has handed our family,” she said. “Our world will never be the same and there will be a gaping hole forever in our family. Our hearts are where my gorgeous baby cousin forever rests peacefully but there are also five lucky people who get a lifesaving part of her too.”
Confirmed schoolies case as authorities warn of ‘close contact’
While anyone who was at the Spilt Milk music festival in Canberra is being urged to keep an eye out for symptoms of meningococcal, those at schoolies celebrations in Queensland are also on alert after a Victorian teenager contracted the disease.The Victorian Department of Health issued an alert on Wednesday after the 18-year-old was diagnosed with meningococcal after traveling to Maroochydore.
“The close contact between young people at events like schoolies may have placed them at an increased risk of contracting this infection,” the state’s Deputy Chief Health Office Deborah Friedman said.
Symptoms to watch out for include severe and unexplained limb pain, difficulty waking up, severe headaches, a stiff neck and a red-purple rash that doesn’t go away when pressed with a glass.
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