Jacqueline Manley regularly took 18-month-old Connie to doctors due to breathing problems, but says her concerns were repeatedly dismissed
A mother was told her toddler was “absolutely fine” just days before she died after a cardiac arrest caused by a common virus. Jacqueline Manley, 30, frequently brought her daughter, Connie, 18 months, to the GP surgery because of her breathing difficulties, but says she was repeatedly reassured that there was “nothing wrong”.
Medical professionals attributed her laboured breathing to laryngomalacia – a condition common in infants where floppy tissue from the vocal chords collapses inwards, causing wheezing, and said it wasn’t a cause for concern. In July 2024, the stay-at-home mother rushed her daughter to hospital after her GP discovered she had low oxygen levels. She was diagnosed with RSV before being discharged with a three-day course of antibiotics.
However, the following day when Connie hadn’t improved, she was readmitted to hospital where her condition worsened, resulting in her suffering a cardiac arrest. She died three weeks later. Jacqueline has been left frustrated and believes doctors “wouldn’t listen” to her concerns and that she has been left without answers.
Jacqueline, from Southampton, said: “Connie was always the one out of my three children to pick up a bug. She was ill from birth, but she never got diagnosed with anything, my concerns were never taken seriously. She would get ill once a month, and when she was ill she would just lie there looking so limp and poorly.
“I was always taking her to the hospital because she sounded like she was struggling to breathe, but doctors would tell me her oxygen levels were absolutely fine. I knew there was something more going on, it was so frustrating.”
In July 2024, when Connie was 18 months old, she became unwell with laboured breathing and a temperature – so Jacqueline took her to the doctors, where she was told that her daughter’s oxygen levels were low, reports the Mirror. She said: “I took her to the doctors – she was no more ill than the other times – but my GP said they needed to take her to a hospital, because her oxygen levels were so low, they were going down to the 80s.”
Connie was rushed to hospital in an ambulance – where doctors took a swab and diagnosed her with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is a very common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs, with symptoms such as wheezing and fever. It can be serious for infants and those over 65, and in rare cases can be fatal.
Following the diagnosis, Connie was given a three day course of antibiotics and sent home. “They said she was fine. I wasn’t happy with this, and questioned it, but they still sent her home”, she said.
But 12 hours later, Connie wasn’t getting any better, so Jacqueline rang the hospital and asked if she could bring her back in. “They just told me to keep giving her liquids, as that is all they would do at the hospital,” she said.
“I rang 999 and she was taken back into hospital. She wasn’t eating, she wasn’t drinking, I was fighting with doctors to make them see how poorly she was but no one was listening to me, it was awful. On her third day in hospital, she was blue and freezing cold, I knew she wasn’t OK, but a nurse told me she was absolutely fine.
“I got the nurse to get a doctor, and then within seconds she was having a cardiac arrest. I just don’t have any answers, it’s just horrible, you wouldn’t think something like this would happen in this day and age.
“I urge mothers to trust your guts, a mother’s instinct is always right, just because you have a doctor stood next to you doesn’t mean they’re right at all. She was the loveliest and happiest little girl, we all miss her so much.”
Connie had consistently been a poorly child and among Jacqueline’s three youngsters was often the one to pick up any illness going around. She would become unwell approximately once a month – experiencing a high temperature, laboured breathing, and severe fatigue.
Jacqueline was constantly visiting hospital with Connie, and remained convinced that there was an issue with Connie’s breathing, but she says doctors repeatedly assured her that she was “absolutely fine”. In July 2024, Connie was rushed into hospital, where medics found her oxygen levels were low.
She was discharged with antibiotics, but 12 hours later, Jacqueline rang for an ambulance, as Connie wasn’t getting better. Connie remained in hospital for the following three days, while Jacqueline battled with medics to get her condition taken seriously.
On her third day in hospital, Connie had experienced a restless night, and Jacqueline, who had been sleeping beside her, told a nurse that she kept waking up to Connie grunting. Jacqueline says a nurse informed her Connie had actually had a good night, and that her oxygen levels had improved. But, observing that Connie was freezing cold and blue, Jacqueline says she got the nurse to fetch a doctor, and within seconds, the toddler was suffering from a cardiac arrest.
Connie died in August 2024 – with the death report stating she died from significant brain injury due to hypoxic cardiac arrest, which is where the heart stops due to lack of oxygen, caused by RSV. “How could she be in hospital and them not have a clue?” Jacqueline said. “On her death report it was confirmed she had low blood pressure readings, so they should have seen a cardiac arrest was brewing.”
While in hospital, Connie was also given nebulisers, which are medical devices that turn liquid medicine into a fine mist so it can be breathed directly into the lungs. Doctors said that the likely reason for Connie’s cardiac arrest was due to a blockage of mucus, caused by the nebulisers.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has been contacted for comment.
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