Online appeal for family of mum who died in empty ward
A FUNDRAISING appeal has been launched to help the family of a new mother who died after she got lost and collapsed in hospital.
Amanda Cox disappeared from her ward in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Monday afternoon wearing pyjamas and slippers.
The 34-year-old from Peebles was found in a disused ward seven hours later, around 10pm.
It is believed she may have ‘taken a wrong turn’ as she returned to the maternity ward following a visit to see her son at the neonatal unit.
The darts player, who in 2016 reached the final 32 in the Women’s World Masters, was pronounced dead a short time later.
In the wake of the tragedy, a fundraising page has been set up to support her widower, Michael Cox, and week-old son Murray.
Family friend John Clarkson created the page, which by last night had raised almost £2,170. He wrote: ‘On Monday a good friend of mine Michael Cox lost his wife Amanda four days after she gave birth to their first child Murray two months premature.
‘I have arranged this with the permission of one of Michael’s brothers to try to help Michael.’
‘Be it for funeral costs for Amanda or help with fuel costs travelling the 25 miles to the hospital daily for the next two months or with day-to-day costs for helping to raise Murray on his own.’
Earlier this week, a source close to the family said: ‘Amanda had been suffering headaches even before she had been in hospital for the birth and was due to see a specialist. Apparently she was going back to her room for medication but took a wrong turning and came out of the neonatal ward into a disused ward.
‘They think it was a brain haemorrhage or a stroke or heart attack but we will just have to wait on the post-mortem.’
Police said they were treating Mrs Cox’s death as unexplained, but not suspicious. But officers have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and why it took several hours to find her.
NHS Lothian deputy chief executive Jim Crombie said it was assisting police with their inquiries.
Locals in Peebles were left shocked by her death.
One said: ‘Everyone is wondering how something like this could have happened.’
Another said: ‘She was an incredibly talented darts player. I don’t know what more to say, we can hardly believe it.’
‘We can hardly believe it’