Girl, 7, placed on oxygen after mould found in family home: 'Heartbreaking'

A young mother of two was left fearing for her daughter’s life after she suffered an asthma attack thought to be triggered by a horrifying mould issue in their house.

Seven-year-old Lilly Harvey, from Surrey in the UK, was rushed to hospital in an ambulance and required oxygen and a combination of five different treatments during her stay.

Her terrified mum, Paige Harvey, 27, was so concerned about her daughter’s condition that she feared she wouldn’t make it home again.

Ms Harvey, who is a full-time mum to Lilly, claims the serious incident could have been avoided, having allegedly lodged several complaints to her landlords.

“It was the most heartbreaking thing that I’ve ever had to see my little girl go through,” she said.

“I couldn’t even imagine how she was feeling or what was going through her little head at the time.”

After concerns for her daughter’s wheezing, Ms Harvey took Lilly to the GP back in February.

She was immediately offered an inhaler and was waiting for the results of a 'peak flow test', which would determine if she was asthmatic.

While waiting for the results, Lilly was rushed to hospital after her mum noticed her little girl struggling for breath, before being sick.

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"She was rushed to hospital and put straight on oxygen as she wasn’t talkative or acting herself," Ms Harvey recalled.

"She then got taken to the children’s high dependency unit to be put on more oxygen and monitored every hour."

The young mother claims doctors said mould in the home was a potential trigger for her daughter's symptoms.

During her stay at hospital, Lilly was given a magnesium sulphate IV along with four other treatments including antibiotics and steroids over the course of three days.

In response to the incident, state housing authorities put Ms Harvey and her daughter in temporary housing and apologised.

"I first raised the issue in November 2020 however, we received no support," Ms Harvey complained.

"Almost two years later, the issue was not resolved and now my daughter’s health was in serious danger.

"Lilly is still on the waiting list for mental health support as she has night terrors."

Dawn Wightman, director of housing at the institution which owned the building, apologised in a statement.

"Following an investigation, we identified the cause of the issue was a leak coming from the bathroom of a neighbouring property. The owner has confirmed that this is now repaired," he said.

"All works are now complete and our resident’s home is ready for her to move back into."

Following an unusually wet year, residents across Australia's east coast have been repeatedly warned about the health dangers of household mould.

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