Daily Record

No mother should have to ask their 8-year-old daughter to plan her own funeral

Family in flat death probe call CANCER DIAGNOSIS COMES TOO LATE

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BY PAUL RODGER THE family of an Italian woman who “mysterious­ly” died in her flat in Scotland two years ago are calling for a fresh inquiry.

Prosecutor­s in Rome have been asked to re-investigat­e what happened to Debora Rastelli, 25, who was found dead by a flatmate in a property in Murano Street, Glasgow, on August 2, 2017.

Scottish police said there were no grounds to suspect foul play but Debora’s family insist there are “absolutely suspicious and mysterious circumstan­ces”.

Her mother, Maria Angela Rastelli, told an Italian newspaper Debora was “a healthy girl who was careful about her lifestyle and had no health problems of any kind”.

She claimed Scottish authoritie­s “have not provided any official declaratio­n about the death of my daughter aside from verbally ruling out foul play”.

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The death of a 25-year-old woman in Glasgow on August 2, 2017, was investigat­ed by Police Scotland under the direction of the Scottish Fatalities Investigat­ion Unit.

“After careful considerat­ion of the facts and circumstan­ces of the case, the procurator fiscal concluded that no further investigat­ion was required.” BY CLAIRE ELLIOT A HEARTBROKE­N mum has told how her eight-year-old daughter is helping to plan her own funeral – after it took doctors four years to diagnose that she has a rare form of bone cancer.

Carol Donald believes Darcy McGuire may have had a chance at fighting the disease if it had been picked up sooner.

The mum first suspected there was something wrong with her daughter when Darcy was three.

The little girl had a lump on her spine and was in constant pain. But Carol said that during repeated trips to her GP and various specialist­s, she was assured there was nothing to worry about.

Carol said even when Darcy was losing weight and in agony last summer, doctors “still assured us it was just growing pains”.

It was only when Darcy started falling over daily in January this year that she was diagnosed with chordoma, an aggressive cancer that affects just one in 20million children worldwide each year.

By then, she had three large tumours on her spine and sacrum and there was nothing that could be done to save her.

The cancer has now spread to her ribs, lungs, skull, hand, arms and legs.

Devoted mum-of-five Carol, 38, of Glenrothes, said: “I was so angry and frustrated because I always knew, as her mum, that something was being missed.

“I’ve always been extremely honest with Darcy about her illness and she knows that one day she is going to die.

“Darcy has helped plan every single part of her funeral along with me.

“When your child is given a terminal diagnosis, they don’t have a choice or say in their death – but I was determined to give Darcy something she could control.”

But she added: “This is definitely not something any mother should have to do with their eight-year-old daughter.

“If this had been found earlier, I have no doubt Darcy could have stood a chance at beating this cruel disease.”

Carol said even the doctor who diagnosed Darcy in January “couldn’t believe how long it had been missed”.

Darcy was born with congenital kyphosis and needed two major operations at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh to fuse her vertebrae and straighten her spine when she was a baby.

When Carol first noticed the lump on Darcy’s spine, she was referred back to the specialist in Edinburgh, who she said told her the girl’s spine “may look a little different because of the fusions”.

Carol said: “We continued going back and forth to GPs and specialist­s, who made us feel like we were wasting their time.”

When she was finally diagnosed, Darcy was given emergency chemothera­py to try to shrink the tumours.

But just a week later, medics confirmed there was no treatment or surgery that could help. The tumours have now left Darcy paralysed from the waist down.

In January, she was given just a few months to live but her mum said: “She is still here and fighting strong.”

Darcy spends her time between home and Rachel House Children’s Hospice in Kinross.

And as she continues to fight for life, the brave girl is raising money for the charity Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), which has provided valuable help and support to the family.

Darcy, her mum and siblings have already raised thousands of pounds for CHAS, with more events planned.

Both NHS Lothian and NHS Fife said they were unable to comment on individual patients for reasons of confidenti­ality.

To support her fundraisin­g, visit the Facebook page Darcy Rae’s Dreams.

 ??  ?? ‘NO FOUL PLAY’ Debora WEE FIGHTER Darcy had two ops to straighten spine as a baby BRAVE Darcywith sisterCery­s and,right, mum Carol
‘NO FOUL PLAY’ Debora WEE FIGHTER Darcy had two ops to straighten spine as a baby BRAVE Darcywith sisterCery­s and,right, mum Carol

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