SHE HAD BIGGEST SMILE
Mum pays tribute after baby dies in tragic accident
THE 11-month-old daughter of a Bangor University student has died nine days after drinking a herbal oil.
Leila Landim spent more than a week in intensive care, hooked up to apparatus to help her breathe, after grabbing and drinking camphor oil which is used in chest rubs.
Last week, her 23-year-old mum Jessica Landim, from Toxteth in Liverpool, described how she had been at home with Leila and her mum when every parent’s worst nightmare unfolded.
The law student said: “She started coughing in a desperate way – I thought she was choking.
“She was having mini-seizures, her lips turned blue and really big. Then her tongue was rolling around out of her mouth, and she was only breathing every five to 10 seconds.
“There was lots of oil on her clothing. She was foaming at thehe mouth, too, andd looking through me. I was shaking, it’s indescribable how you feel I still can’t stand still.”
And she warned other parents: “These are householdd essentials, and I don’t n’t think people realise how serious it can get – we didn’t.” Jessica’s mum to told her Leila had grabbed the oil from the h head of her m mum’s bed, and h had taken it to towards her face. S She said she had been told Leila may not have survived even four hours if she had not been put on the life support machine.
Jessica had urged any experts with particular knowledge of the effects of ingesting such oils to get in touch. She has now paid tribute to her ‘beautiful baby girl’.
She said: “She had the biggest smile, and that she isn’t smiling now, it’s not right. To me, she’s still alive. She’ll always live – whether it’s just in my heart, she will live on.”