My best friend's death changed me and woman dies from snake bite, literally

The inquest heard that the youngster had undergone a routine operation to correct her spine which had been painfully curved for four years.

It appeared to be a success at first but the following night she suffered the internal bleed which drained her heart and triggered a fatal heart attack.

Just four days before she died the kind-hearted youngster had defied her spinal problem and agonising pain to climb Snowdon on a charity walk.

Mr Harding, who rushed to the hospital to care for Emma after being woken up at 1am, also said that the way her aorta was supposedly punctured was "completely unheard of".

The most likely cause of death was a rod inserted during surgery being too close to the blood vessel or as the result of movement, a pathologist said.
The inquest heard that doctors around the world are currently researching how Emma, from Chilcompton, Somerset, could have suffered the post-op complication.

In an emotional statement read aloud in court, Emma's mother said her daughter was an "extraordinary girl" who had a "zest for life and making a difference".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/27/girl-14-died-at-bristol-childrens-hospital-after-overstretched-s/

Victoria Roberts wrote:
The death of a young person is devastating by its very nature and is often sudden and unexpected. In the aftermath, support is understandably focused on parents and siblings. But a new charity campaign is aiming to highlight the effect of the death on their friends – the forgotten mourners, whose grief can be just as painful and intense.

Emma Welch, 14, died in 2015 following complications during surgery to correct a scoliosis (curvature) of her spine. Her best friend Victoria Roberts was at the same school, near Bath

Emma and I were best friends. We first met when we started secondary school and it was pretty much instant – we spent the whole time laughing. We went to each other’s houses after school, had sleepovers, went to the park, shopping – all the normal things. She was very bubbly, happy and funny. We were part of a bigger group, but the two of us were very tight.

When she died it was devastating. I was on the way to school on the bus, and Mum texted me to go to reception once I got there. She had jumped in the car to come and tell me before I got to my classroom. I didn’t believe her. It was something that just shouldn’t have happened.

I felt numb to begin with. It still doesn’t feel real. Everyone acts differently around you. Initially, people kept asking me if I was OK, and that made me cry a lot. People didn’t talk about Emma and if they mentioned her name they would look at me and stop in case they upset me.

To begin with it was hard to concentrate, especially at school, as we used to spend so much time together. The teachers said, ‘You can have as much time off as you want,’ but I just wanted to go to my lessons. I felt like, ‘This has happened and there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s no point crying about it; Emma wouldn’t have wanted me to.’
When Emma died it was devastating. It shouldn't have happened

If you don’t talk about it, it’s worse. Being around people and sharing memories with our friends helps. We laugh about things like the time she fell in a recycling box at school. When Emma went in for her operation I made her a book to cheer her up while she was in hospital – funny pictures, photos of the two of us with sugary faces after we had tried to eat doughnuts without licking our lips! Now I look at it to remember her and the good times. I still have all the silly videos we used to record on the laptop.

Emma was such a lovely, motivated person. She raised more than £13,000 for Brain Tumour Research after her church minister, a father with young children, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. And just a few days before she died she made an attempt to set a record for the number of teddy bears on a mountaintop. She climbed Mount Snowdon with a team of volunteers carrying 135 bears in rucksacks – including her fundraising mascot Daisy Bear (Emma’s middle name was Daisy) who even has her own Facebook page, which helps friends keep up to date with fundraising events in Emma’s memory. I’m trying to carry on her fundraising work as I feel that makes her life count – and makes me feel as though I am keeping her memory alive.

I’ve arranged a lot of things in Emma’s memory at school. For the first anniversary of her death, I organised a crocheted daisies Guinness World Record attempt. People around the world sent in crocheted daisies with lovely messages. We had more than 31,000 displayed at The Forum in Bath, with Emma’s name written in daisies in the middle.

Our friends have stayed in touch with Emma’s parents. Tony, Emma’s dad, has been on fundraising walks and her mum Lesley and my mum crochet together, making blankets, hats and cushion covers – normally involving a daisy or two – to sell for charity.

Milestones we expected to share are tough. For our school prom in June we decorated the railings with daisies and we took pink balloons that spelt out her name. It was a strange day as Emma and I always used to talk about what we would do at our prom.

Remembering those conversations made me smile, but inside my heart was breaking that my best friend was not by my side on our special day. There was a lot of cheering and clapping as we released the balloons and they floated away. Tears were shed and there were lots of hugs. I would like to think that Emma was watching and that I did her proud.

Being only 14, our favourite conversation topic was boys. We talked about getting married and having children who would grow up to be friends just like us. I am not sure what Emma would be doing today but I know we would be laughing through whatever life threw at us.

Her death has changed my outlook. I realise you only have one life so do things that make you happy. I don’t worry about things as much as I used to before she died. It puts the trivial things into perspective.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-5058129/Real-Lives-best-friend-s-death-changed-me.html

Being only 14, our favourite conversation topic was boys. We talked about getting married and having children who would grow up to be friends just like us. I am not sure what Emma would be doing today but I know we would be laughing through whatever life threw at us.

Pregnant woman dies of suspected snakebite in WA
A young pregnant woman has died after a suspected snake bite in regional WA.

The 27-year-old woman was bitten by a snake outside her home in Meekatharra, a remote town about 760km northwest of Perth.

She told family members she had been bitten before breaking into convulsions after 8.30pm last night.

She was rushed to hospital by St John Ambulance paramedics and went into cardiac arrest while there.

A Meekathara-based doctor from the Royal Flying Doctor's Service was called to attend about 10pm, but the woman died soon afterwards.
Medical staff were unable to save the victim's baby.

She was 31 weeks pregnant.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/2018/02/06/13/55/pregnant-woman-dies-snakebite-wa

Being only 14, our favourite conversation topic was boys. We talked about getting married and having children who would grow up to be friends just like us. I am not sure what Emma would be doing today but I know we would be laughing through whatever life threw at us.

did you know what was happening?

typically if you start kindergarden at age 5, first grade age 6, second grade age 7, age 12 is usually sixth grade.

i'm not sure if my 6th grade classmates were having sex.

did your mom ever think 12 is too young?

are you still friends with him?

A few years later she said I probably should've waited for high school but wasn't going to intervene.

TracyB wrote:It was really young. I was the youngest in my group of friends who did it and throughout my life, with abuse being the exception, I've only known one girl who lost her virginity at that age.

It was really weird. I acted too quickly on the new emotions I was feeling. I read about it years ago and some people hit puberty in 'overdrive'. I don't want to call it hyper-sexual as that makes me sound like a nymphomaniac. I wasn't. I had already been thinking about sex to a degree when I was 10-11 but like many, its a much more 'innocent' type of thought.

I think it boiled down to perfect timing. Just as those thoughts were going haywire, I meet him. He moved in with my aunt and her boyfriend. I had an instant crush...and he detected it. It started with me going in his room to play video games. We'd sit there sometimes for hours.

I've told you how my family is very liberal when it comes to this stuff. My mom basically let me do whatever I wanted. Looking back on all this, my feelings are a bit different....

It was a surreal experience....and it took awhile to get used to it.

I knew the basics about sex of course....but that was it. I didn't realize how simple yet incredibly complex it is and the emotions that it creates.

What happened was after crushing on him for a few weeks or so, I rode my bike over to their house one day. He was there alone...my aunt and her boyfriend were at work. I pulled up and him and his friend were outside talking. His friend quickly left and me and him talked for awhile and then went in the house. We went to his room to play video games and when he sat down, I kissed him and told him I loved him. He wasted no time. he kissed me back, told me he loved me too, and pulled my shirt off. Pulled his pants off which both frightened and excited me.

After oral play and talking, he took my virginity which hurt like hell. I was in over my head but didn't realize it. I wasn't ready for full blown intercourse with a 16 year old.

While I don't regret it, I do wish I had saved that experience for a boy I liked in school.

I don't think kids should be having sex that young. You're not ready for the nuances of a relationship. I was with him all summer and it was too dramatic for a 12 year old. Arguing, making up, etc....it's not for kids.

I will say this about him.....major balls to make a move like that. I guess he figured since I made the first move, no chance of me telling anyone.

We never used condoms either....another sign I was too immature. He had other girlfriends before so I was putting myself at risk for STDs without realizing it. Had I got pregnant, it would've been a huge disaster.

Couple years ago I thought about confronting my aunt about how she simply looked the other way while that fling was going on. It's not her fault of course but like I said....young girls don't need to be allowed private access to teen guys.

I found out years later my mom knew what was going on but just let me make my own decisions and learn about life on my terms. This is probably why my aunt ignored it.

We were barely hiding it. It mostly happened while they were at work but sometimes I went over there later in the evening and it should've been obvious what we were doing.

i'm wondering what would have happened if i met you say at age 11

I think its due to my past drug use and not a legitimate disorder. Its why it flared up in college.

I'm taking the day off work. In about an hour I'm gonna go get breakfast and then crash for a few hours after that.

Funny how some guys say this after finding that out.

Its when I realized how lucky he probably felt. Its not an every day thing getting to fool around with a girl that age. It was probably like winning the lottery to him

do u also feel u won the lottery with him?

TracyB wrote:Amazing.

God the 90s were so amazing.

TracyB wrote:I need to check out more of their stuff. I'd heard the Return to Innocence song before.


I always wondered what it would've been like to be a teen/adult in the 90s. It was the last great decade.

tracyb wrote:I cried for hours. He called me but I wasn't giving in.