'Magical Little Princess': The Tragic Story of Amber Milnes
A five-year-old girl who was her family's "magical little princess" died just four days after undergoing a routine tonsillectomy, a coroner's court has heard.
Amber Milnes from St Just in Roseland, Cornwall, passed away on 9 April 2023 at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, where she had her tonsils and adenoids removed on 5 April 2023 to treat sleep apnoea.
Hospital Discharge and Deteriorating Condition
Despite Amber having a rare condition called cyclical vomiting syndrome that causes violent vomiting episodes, the hospital discharged her on the same day as her operation, to her parents' "surprise".
Her mother, Sereta Milnes, told the inquest she had repeatedly stated that Amber needed to stay in hospital overnight due to her medical condition.
In the early hours of 6 April, Amber began vomiting repeatedly. When her parents contacted the hospital, they were advised to "wait and see" how she progressed.
After vomiting approximately 20 times throughout the day, Amber was readmitted to hospital at 10pm that evening.
Critical Care Failures and Fatal Haemorrhage
The Cornwall Coroner's Court heard that Amber's intravenous line failed around midnight on 7 April, meaning she couldn't receive essential medication including anti-sickness drugs, antibiotics, pain relief and fluids.
According to her mother, Amber went without these critical medications for approximately 14 hours until intravenous treatment was restarted at 2.45pm on 8 April.
Tragically, Amber awoke at 3am on 9 April and suffered a massive haemorrhage. Medical staff were unable to resuscitate her, and she was pronounced dead at 4.37am.
Consultant pathologist Dr Andrew Bamber confirmed the cause of death as massive haemorrhage with aspiration of blood, surgical site infection and enlarged tonsils.
Surgeon Kel Anyanwu, who performed the 38-minute operation described as "quiet in terms of blood loss", told the inquest he had never previously seen a death following a tonsillectomy and described Amber's case as "unique".
In a heartfelt pen portrait, Amber's parents Lewis and Sereta Milnes described their daughter as the "happiest little girl" who "lit up our home with her singing, her dancing, her laughter and her heart of gold".
The inquest continues as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding this tragic paediatric death.
