Dying woman’s final days a ‘living nightmare’, inquest hears

A woman has told an inquest in Limerick how the final days of her mother's life were a "living nightmare", before she died at the Mid-Western Hospital in Limerick.

Sandra Cleary was giving evidence at the inquest into the death of her mother Helen, who died at the Limerick hospital in 2010, after being treated there for almost two months.

“We will never recover from the undeserved torment and indignity suffered by our wonderful mother in her final days,” Sandra Cleary told the Coroner’s Court in Limerick yesterday.

Helen Cleary, a mother of five, from Foynes, Co Limerick, died on June 30th, 2010, 11 days after suffering a heart attack.

Her family claim they were told by one doctor that a blockage in her tracheostomy or breathing tube caused their mother's cardiac arrest, however, the hospital claims the cause of the heart attack is unclear.

Admitted to hospital
The inquest heard Mrs Cleary was admitted to the hospital on May 11th, 2010, with weight loss, swollen ankles and liver abnormality.

On admission to hospital, the 69-year-old had a blood alcohol level of 140 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. In his evidence Dr Alexander Fraser described the alcohol level as high.

Solicitor for the family Roger Murray said the family would take great issue if Mrs Cleary was branded an alcoholic.

Counsel for the hospital, Imogen McGrath, insisted nobody was being called an alcoholic.

Coroner Dr Tony Casey was told how Mrs Cleary’s health deteriorated following her admission to hospital and she declined into a coma.

Evidence was heard of liver disease, pneumonia and CPM, a neurological disease caused by damage of nerve cells in the brain.

Following her decline, Mrs Cleary was treated in the intensive care unit where she made good progress and emerged from her coma and had a tracheostomy.

However, her family said the “alarm bells began to ring” when they were told she was being moved out of the ICU back to a general ward on June 17th.

Two days later the 69-year-old suffered a heart attack and had to be resuscitated. However, her health continued to decline and she never regained consciousness.

Cardiac arrest
Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Maeve Skelly said she told the Cleary family the cause of the cardiac arrest was not clear.

However, in her evidence Ms Cleary claimed a doctor told her that a blockage in her mother’s tracheostomy or breathing tube had caused a loss of oxygen, which had led to her cardiac arrest.

The inquest heard that Mrs Cleary’s ventilator was turned off on June 22nd but she lived for eight more days.

“The images of my decaying mother will haunt me to the end of my days,” her daughter said.

In her evidence she also recalled how her mother had to be moved from ICU as her bed was needed.

“We had to wheel her through the public corridor of the hospital and endure stares of onlookers.

“The journey was inhumane, her dignity was not considered even though she was still a living person.”

She described her mother’s last few days as a “living nightmare” for the family.

The two-day inquest continues today.