Woman died six months after moving to Sligo to battle alcohol addiction

A 49-year-old woman who moved to Ireland to battle her alcohol addiction died due to acute respiratory depression caused by toxic levels of ethanol and Paroxetine in the blood.

Elzbieta Szczegodinska tragically passed away in January having fallen ill.

The inquest into her death last Thursday heard that Elzbieta’s daughter Martha Szczegodinska has been living in Ireland for nearly 11 years having moved here from Poland.

Martha moved her mother in with her in Woodtown Lodge as she had been battling alcoholism for a number of years.

Martha went back to Poland previously to try and help Elzbieta, but she told the inquest that her mother would not listen.

She also suffered with high blood pressure, increasing Martha’s concerns about her mother’s welfare.

After moving to Ireland in June 2016, Martha said her mother had been doing well, and she thought she had given up drinking.

On January 9 th, Elzbieta appeared to be in good form, but felt unwell and went to bed to rest.

At 5pm Martha checked on her and she was sleeping. She checked again later on and saw that Elzbieta was not moving.

She grabbed her Mum’s hand but it was cold and slightly grey in colour.

“A few days before she died I started to think that she may have been drinking again, but not as much as previously but she was acting strange and sleeping a lot although I did not see her drink.

“A few days after she died I was cleaning her room and found two bottles of wine which were empty.

“She had not been seeing a doctor in Ireland, however she was taking tablets for high blood pressure,” Martha said.

She added: “On the day that she died she was in good form. It was completely unexpected. I did everything I could to help my mother. I believed that I had helped her to stop drinking by bringing her over from Poland.”

Coroner Eamonn McGowan delivered a verdict of death by misadventure due the elevated levels of ethanol and Paroxetine in the blood.

“This is a tragic case, this was your Mum and you were trying to help her. She was such a young age. I hope you can pick up the pieces and move on,” Eamonn McGowan told Martha at the inquest.