Allergy kills UK’s top girl tennis star , 9
Sadie collapses on family day out
A CHILD tennis ace has died from a sever allergic reaction to dairy products on a family day out.
Nine-year-old Sadie Bristow, ranked number one for her age group in the UK, went into anaphylactic shock and attempts to save her failed.
She became unwell on a trip to Whitstable Castle in Kent with parents Stewart and Clare. Sadie was taken to a local medical centre then flown to St George’s Hospital in South London, where she died the next day.
Stewart, 45, said: “Anaphylactic shock shuts down the airways very quickly and she did not respond to treatment with 16 shots of adrenaline, which is the first course of action.
“It is very rare and I think even the doctors we’re taken aback by the speed.” Stewart paid tribute to Sadie, who won more than 40 regional and county tennis tournaments last year.
He wrote on a Just Giving page set up in her memory: “Sadie was my passion and inspiration. She was so determined and focused. Sadie is my best friend. We spent hours together on the tennis court. We went skiing together and we went to Erasure concerts together, taste in music the same as her dad’s. “Sadie had an immense ambition in tennis. At the end of the 2018 season, she was ranked no1 UK 9u girl.”
Sadie’s dairy allergy was being carefully managed. There was no specific trigger of the fatal attack, he said.
The Just Giving page has raised more than £17,000 so far. Tennis coach Stewart, of Chartham, Kent, said: “Sadie was an inspiration and we wish to carry on inspiring in her name. We are all so much in awe of all your kindness and support. “We wish to start a foundation in Sadie’s name. One that will involve her passion, tennis, and her health, allergies and anaphylactic conditions.” Stewart and Clare have two other children, Charlotte, 11 and April, one.