Girl, 17, died just weeks after returning from holiday with 'tonsillitis' | The Sun

A TEENAGER has died just weeks after being misdiagnosed with tonsillitis.

Leah Rogers, 17, had returned home from her first parents-free holiday with a group of friends before she fell ill.

After initially believing she had come down with a bad case of tonsillitis, Leah tragically died, leaving her parents "devastated and unable to comprehend" what happened.

The young girl from Neath, Wales fell became unwell days after coming home from the holiday in Majorca, and was quickly prescribed antibiotics, Wales Online reports.

She was taken to hospital twice over the next week as her symptoms worsened.

Her mother, Kath Rogers, 57, said: "It got to the point where she took an accidental overdose of paracetamol because she took too many painkillers."

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After days of not seeing any improvements to her condition she was prescribed with a different course of antibiotics.

But Kath realised the hospital had not given her enough tablets to last the ten day course.

When she returned to hospital the mum was told Leah would have to be with her to pick up the medicines.

When she returned with Leah, a consultant – who thought she might have glandular fever – admitted her.

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However, she had pain in her liver, which blood tests revealed was liver failure.

Leah was taken into intensive care in Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, where she began showing signs of confusion and kept trying to get out of bed.

Staff told Leah's family they would put her on life support before being transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

"I thought they'd just put her on life support for the journey and then when we got to Birmingham they'd wake her up.

"But they never woke her up," said Kath.

Doctors warned the parents Leah could be suffering from a blood condition called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

HLH is a life-threatening immune condition which causes the body to react inappropriately to a trigger, usually an infection.

Tragically, Leah received an official HLH diagnosis.

After doctors told the family there was nothing more they could do for the teenager, they collectively made the heartbreaking decision to start decreasing the medication keeping Leah alive.

Leah sadly died on June 7, just three months before her 18th birthday.

The family are now raising awareness of the condition in the hopes that a cure can be found.

"You don't ever expect to lose your child, it's the hardest thing ever and I don't think we'll ever get over it – it's the worst thing imaginable," Kath said.

The family have raised over £20,000 for the charity Histio UK through a fundraiser at a local pub, it also marked Leah's 18th birthday.

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This month, they are running another fundraising for the charity through an event to remember Leah on September 9 at JK's in Briton Ferry.

Tickets are £10 and are available at JK's and any donations or payments to the charity can be made via PayPal to [email protected].

What are the symptoms for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis?

SYMPTOMS of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis range in severity and vary from person to person.

Some of the most common signs include:

• Fever that doesn’t respond to antibiotics
• A rash
• A large liver
• A large spleen
• Enlarged lymph nodes

Additional symptoms could include:

• Anemia
• Thrombocytopenia
• Weakness
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Pale skin
• Jaundice

Life-threatening signs of HLH include:

• Difficulty breathing (dyspnea)
• Seizures
• Retinal hemorrhages
• Loss of consciousness
• Coma

Source: Cleveland Clinic

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