Tributes after sudden death of ‘bubbly’ daughter, 12
AHEARTBROKEN family have paid tribute to a “funny” and “bubbly” schoolgirl who died just days after initially falling ill.
Ffion Jones complained of aching and severe tiredness before Christmas and was forced to take time off school.
But her condition rapidly deteriorated and within just four days of being off sick from St Teilo’s Church in Wales High School, Cardiff, she’d passed away.
Doctors discovered that the 12-yearold, from Rumney, had been struck down with Addison’s disease, a rare disorder of the adrenal glands.
“She was a wonderful daughter, and she was so funny,” said her mum, Stephanie Jones. “She was really sporty and her energy levels were always really high, so it was really out of character for her to be so lethargic. I needed to pick her up from school a couple of times because she felt so tired and sick.
“She was off school on the Monday and then died on the Thursday. That just shows how quickly this condition takes hold.”
Stephanie initially thought Ffion, who was a “natural” at maths and had dreams of becoming a top chef, was suffering from flu or a stomach bug. But after a trip to their local GP surgery she knew it was something far more serious.
Stephanie added: “We went to the doctor’s on the Wednesday as she was just so weak and dehydrated. I practically had to carry her through into the doctor’s room.”
Ffion then suffered a cardiac arrest at the surgery and needed to be taken by ambulance to the A&E department at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
“One of the doctors on duty recognised some of the signs of Addison’s disease. We’d never heard of it.”
After falling unconscious during the cardiac arrest, Ffion never woke up and died on December 8, 2016.
But the family said they were helped by charity 2 Wish Upon a Star which provided a bereavement box containing essential items to make the grieving process easier. And to date more than £13,000 has been raised for the charity via two JustGiving pages.
And now Ffion’s dad Anthony is planning on walking from Holyhead to Cardiff over six days for 2 Wish, starting this Saturday.
“He’ll be walking around 30 miles a day,” added Stephanie, who has another daughter called Sophie, 16.
“It will give him some space and thinking time. The whole family will be supporting him along the route.”
2 Wish Upon a Star works with all accident and emergency units in Wales and provides bereavement rooms for families to grieve in private.
“It provided us with somewhere non-medical,” said Stephanie.
“But we really couldn’t fault the care the nurses and doctors offered us at the hospital. They talked to Ffion even when she wasn’t conscious.”
A walk up Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, followed by a cycle ride back to Cardiff, is also planned for 2 Wish Upon a Star on June 25.
To donate go to www.justgiving. com/fundraising/ffionsfundraisers