A 23-year-old woman from the United Kingdom who was suffering from a rare genetic condition died in July two years ago. Now, her mother is saying that her disease worsened because the facility which took her in failed to provide the care she needed.
Kirsty Derry was diagnosed with Prader-Willi disease at two-years-old. "I tried my best to control her eating, but she was always ravenous and tried everything to get her hands on food," Kirsty's mother, Julie Fallows said, via Daily Mail.
When Kirsty was old enough to live on her own, she decided to live in a care home, away from her mother. "Kirsty decided she wanted to live independently - she was a grown up and I wasn't in a position to stop her. Of course I wanted her to stay at home with me, it's a mother's instinct. But I wanted her to be happy and have what she wanted. I thought she'd be safe and happy in a supported living environment," Julie said.
That was in October 2012. Nine months later, Kirsty died.
At the Victoria Mews care home, Kirsty's bungalow was afforded "assisted technology" and she was to receive one-on-one care from the workers. However, the locks and alarms on her fridge and cupboards were gone a few months after she moved in and apparently convinced the staff to remove these, according to the Telegraph.
"I know she was an adult but she needed that support. They should have told her 'no' or asked me about it," Kirsty's mom further revealed. But during the inquest into her case, social workers said that the young woman had the "mental capacity to make her own decisions."
With no control of her eating habits, Kirsty's BMI ballooned. At the time of her death, she had a 42.1 BMI, when normal levels are between 19 to 25. The coroner at South Staffordshire, Andrew Haigh, said her death was from "consequences of a natural condition that was not effectively addressed."
"Hopefully appropriate lessons have been learned. The degree of her capacity seems to have deteriorated. She could understand matters but controlling herself having taken that information in, was a different matter," Haigh said in the Daily Mail report.
Julie is said to be seeking further legal advise.
There is 1 in 10,000 to 30,000 people afflicted with the Prader-Willi syndrome all over the world according to Genetics Home Reference. Aside from eating problems, the condition also leads to abnormal body growth and development of the muscles, diabetes and learning disabilities or behavior problems.
