By Grâçia Ada Obi
A nine-year-old girl drowned in the bath after her mother popped downstairs for minutes to find her favourite toy. Mia Myerscough, from Bridgend, died on September 13, 2021 after she’d been found by her mother Julia Myerscough and her partner Vernon Ward.
Mia suffered from a condition called PCDH19-related epilepsy which is a rare form of the syndrome with early onset seizures, cognitive and sensory delays and behavioural problems. But the Heronbridge School pupil hadn’t suffered a seizure for two years before her death, an inquest into her death at Pontypridd coroners’ court heard on Tuesday Today, November 5.
Ms Myerscough had taken Mia for a bath on the evening of September 12, 2021 in the upstairs of the family home in Bridgend but realised Mia didn’t have her favourite Danny Dog squishy toy. Knowing Mia would not be able to settle in the bath without the toy, Ms Myerscough said she went downstairs for no more than five minutes. In the minutes before Mia had taken some persuading to get into the bath and Ms Myerscough had concerns her daughter would become irritable without the toy.
“She was sitting towards the top of the bath in the corner next to her little squishies – her little friends,” Ms Myerscough told assistant coroner Andrew Morse. “I made sure the tap was turned off and I went down to get Danny Dog.”
Mr Ward told the inquest that while Ms Myerscough was downstairs he heard a “bump” or “bang” but didn’t know where it came from in the house. He said he shouted up to Mia if she was okay and shouted again when he didn’t get a response. When he went upstairs he said he found Mia partially immersed in the water.
He recalled how he shouted for Ms Myerscough to come and scooped Mia out of the water and immediately started CPR. Neighbours rushed to the house after Julia and Mia’s older brother alerted them to an emergency. One of the neighbours, John Howells, arrived at the house quickly.
Mr Ward said Mr Howells held the phone as the ambulance service gave CPR instructions and Mr Ward carried out resuscitation attempts. Paramedics arrived at the house within minutes and Mia was transferred to University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, where resuscitation attempts were later stopped at the paediatric intensive care unit in the early hours of the following morning.
Mr Ward said Mia “loved her squishies” and would “take them everywhere, even school”. Ms Myerscough added her daughter relied on the sensory toys and there had been some queries about whether Mia was autistic.
Dr Stephen Leadbeatter, senior lecturer in forensic pathology at Cardiff University, told the hearing that he couldn’t determine an exact medical cause of death for Mia. He said: “While we have no evidence she was submerged in water, she was in the water and her nose and mouth were in the water. To me that is still immersion. One cannot ignore that water played a part. I can put it as the death is a consequence of immersion in a child with PCDH19-related epilepsy.”
As painful as these proceedings are for those who have lost a loved one the lessons that can be learned from inquests can go a long way to saving others’ lives.
The press has a legal right to attend inquests and has a responsibility to report on them as part of their duty to uphold the principle of open justice.
It’s a journalist’s duty to make sure the public understands the reasons why someone has died and to make sure their deaths are not kept secret. An inquest report can also clear up any rumours or suspicion surrounding a person’s death.
But, most importantly of all, an inquest report can draw attention to circumstances which may stop further deaths from happening.
Should journalists shy away from attending inquests then an entire arm of the judicial system is not held to account.
Inquests can often prompt a wider discussion on serious issues, the most recent of these being mental health and suicide.
Editors actively ask and encourage reporters to speak to the family and friends of a person who is the subject of an inquest. Their contributions help us create a clearer picture of the person who died and also provides the opportunity to pay tribute to their loved one.
Often families do not wish to speak to the press and of course that decision has to be respected. However, as has been seen by many powerful media campaigns, the input of a person’s family and friends can make all the difference in helping to save others.
Without the attendance of the press at inquests questions will remain unanswered and lives will be lost.
Ms Myerscough said she was convinced her daughter hadn’t had a seizure in the minutes preceding the incident and wasn’t about to have one. The inquest heard Ms Myerscough had decades of experience in dealing with close family members with epilepsy, having also cared for Mia’s older sister, who is 25 and has the same condition.
Dr Alok Gaurav, consultant within children’s services at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, told the hearing that from 2019 Mia’s epilepsy “was really well controlled”. He explained that from his understanding it appeared there was a pattern with Mia where she wouldn’t have seizures for a while but would have them in shorter bursts.
Ms Myerscough said these bursts tended to last around a week and would present obviously. She said Mia always went pale in her face and showed key signs a seizure was coming on, but on the day Mia died her face had been “shining”.
Alyson Davies, paediatric epilepsy specialist nurse with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, had helped the Myerscough family with concerns around epilepsy since 2019. She told the inquest Mia’s epilepsy was well managed and she would usually take her medication properly, while on occasion Ms Myerscough reported struggling to give her daughter all of the medication prescribed because she would sometimes refuse to take it. Ms Davies said there had been no issues reported to her regarding Mia’s epilepsy for two years prior to her death.
Mr Morse read out medical guidance for people with epilepsy. He asked Ms Davies to clarify the guidance that a shower is always safer than a bath, to never shower or bathe if in a property on your own, to never lock the door while in a shower or bath, and to always inform someone in the property before you enter a shower or bath. Ms Davies said the advice is correct and up to date for people with epilepsy.
Ms Myerscough said she was aware of the advice and knew the advice at the time but Mia hated showers and would “scream” when the water in the shower went on her head. She said her daughter was a “very private little girl” and “loved a bath” and so she would sit on the stairs on the other side of the bathroom door and “chat away” to her daughter while she had a bath. Ms Davies agreed that was a good approach. There had never been any issues with Mia in the bath prior to her death.
Ms Myerscough said she was aware of the advice and knew the advice at the time but Mia hated showers and would “scream” when the water in the shower went on her head. She said her daughter was a “very private little girl” and “loved a bath” and so she would sit on the stairs on the other side of the bathroom door and “chat away” to her daughter while she had a bath. Ms Davies agreed that was a good approach. There had never been any issues with Mia in the bath prior to her death.
Mr Morse recorded a formal conclusion of accident. He accepted the findings of Dr Leadbeatter and said: “I find on the balance of probability Mia suffered a seizure which led to her immersion in the bath.” He told Ms Myerscough she was not being blamed for what happened to her daughter, and extended his condolences to Mia’s loved ones.
Ms Myerscough said her daughter was a happy girl who loved her family. She loved Peppa Pig and trips out with her family to Margam Park.