Investigation launched as five-year-old girl dies from sudden illness
AN investigation has been launched after a five-year-old schoolgirl died suddenly of a mystery illness.
Maja Glowacka died in the early hours of Tuesday but details of her death emerged only yesterday as a investigation was launched to discover the cause.
At first, the cause of Maja’s death was believed to be meningitis but that has since been ruled out following the results of a post-mortem.
Now sepsis is being considered as a possible cause.
However, it could be up to two months before the results of tests confirm what caused the little girl’s death.
Maja had only just started junior school in Co, Cork, where she lives, when she suddenly fell ill.
Last weekend, she had been to a birthday party and although she had gone to school – where her eight-year-old brother Mikolaj is also a pupil – on Monday, she developed a slight cough and then a fever.
Her mother, Iwona Glowacka, managed to lower her daughter’s temperature but later that night she rushed her daughter to a local out-of-hours clinic after she fell ill again.
Maja was then transferred to hospital via ambulance but is believed to have died on the way.
Her death has devastated her family, who moved from Poland about ten years ago to Cork, where Maja was born.
Family friend Sofia Lankiewicz, who first spoke about the tragedy on Cork’s 96fm Opinion Line, said last night: ‘She was fine over the weekend and had been to a birthday party with friends. Then she had a bit of a cough but apart from that she was fine.
‘And then she got a high fever on Monday. Her lips and nails turned blue and they ran to SouthDoc, and SouthDoc rang the ambulance straight away and then she died on the way to the hospital in the ambulance with her parents.
‘They haven’t found the cause yet. She was born with a heart condition but it wasn’t the cause of her death.
‘Her heart was doing fine, so they are still looking. It is a long investigation, unfortunately. And they need to be sure that the family or the other children are not at risk.’
A message at the start of a GoFundMe page set up to raise money to pay for funeral and other associated expenses reads: ‘Our dear friends’ beloved daughter Maja suddenly passed away at the age of five.
‘As friends of the family and part of the Carrigtwohill community, we would love to support them as much as we can.
‘The extended family is living in Poland and we are looking to help raise funds for all the funeral expenses that will take place abroad, their healthcare and living expenses while being out of work.’
By 6pm yesterday, €11,656 had been raised by 452 people in just 20 hours and the page had been shared 1,900 times.
‘There are no savings in the background that the family can use and her mother works parttime, so they are going to need money at this terrible time,’ added Ms Lankiewicz.
‘And although her husband Krzysztof is working full-time, he won’t be paid while he is off to deal with this.And we didn’t want them to worry about the money.’
When meningitis was suspected, parents at the girl’s school, Scoil Mhuire Naofa in Carrigtwohill, were advised that the Department of Health’s senior medical officer had been notified.
‘Her lips and nails turned blue’