{"id":4151,"date":"2025-08-23T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=4151"},"modified":"2025-09-01T10:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T10:11:15","slug":"it-was-supposed-to-be-a-routine-biopsy-then-my-daughter-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/23\/it-was-supposed-to-be-a-routine-biopsy-then-my-daughter-died\/","title":{"rendered":"It was supposed to be a routine biopsy \u2013 then my daughter died"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Amelia\t<\/div>
Throughout her illness, Amelia remained her playful, sassy self (Picture: Matt Ridout)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I kissed my daughter, Amelia, on the forehead one last time and screwed down the lid of her coffin.<\/p>\n

As impossible as it was, it felt like tucking her in for bed \u2013 a nightmare neither of us would wake from.<\/p>\n

At her funeral, I sang John Legend<\/a>\u2019s All of Me, the song I had dreamed of performing on her wedding day. That final goodbye was my way of giving her the dream nuptials we used to act out in make-believe.<\/p>\n

My baby girl was gone, aged six. And the most galling thing is that her death was an accident.<\/p>\n

Amelia \u2013 or Millie, as we called her \u2013 was five when she began bruising more easily and picking up illnesses more often.<\/p>\n

In early 2022, she visited the GP and had follow-up blood tests at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, under the care of Addenbrooke\u2019s Hospital. That led to months of monitoring her low blood counts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On May 28, she was finally admitted to that same hospital. Throughout it all, Amelia remained her playful, sassy self, but I knew something was wrong.<\/p>\n

I pushed for a bone marrow biopsy to confirm what I feared \u2013 cancer<\/a>. The biopsy procedure was first scheduled for Tuesday June 14, but it was moved to Thursday June 16 for reasons still unclear.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Matt\t<\/div>
Matt Ridout and his daughter, Millie (Picture: Matt Ridout)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was with her as she went under anaesthetic. She was scared, clinging to her mum and looking at me with eyes that said, \u2018Save me, Daddy\u2019.<\/p>\n

She was scared of the sleeping gas mask, so they tried a flavoured lip balm smeared inside it. I said \u2018Fanta\u2019 and she smiled.<\/p>\n

That was the last smile I saw, but I also saw her fear. All I wanted to do at that moment was protect her.<\/p>\n

She closed her eyes, and I stepped into the hallway, but I had a feeling that something was wrong.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later, I felt the air go heavy. The staff moved quickly. Then a crash cart appeared.<\/p>\n

At that moment, I knew the worst must\u2019ve happened.<\/p>\n

Amelia had suffered massive internal bleeding. The biopsy needle had passed through her bone and pierced vital vessels causing massive, catastrophic bleeding internally.<\/p>\n

From that moment, nothing could be done.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Matt\t<\/div>
I knew who my daughter was and the things she stood for (Picture: Matt Ridout)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She was resuscitated multiple times before they told us her condition was critical. I called my parents to come. I needed them there.<\/p>\n

Still, I hoped for a miracle. But that miracle didn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n

Later that day, I walked to clear my head. About 45 minutes in, I saw a vision: My grandmother with her arm around Amelia, who ran toward me and said, \u2018It\u2019s okay, Daddy.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Soon after, the hospital called. I said, \u2018It\u2019s okay. She\u2019s already told me.\u2019<\/p>\n

Even in death, she found a way to soften the blow.<\/p>\n

What followed was appalling. The hospital kept us from seeing Amelia and sat us down to walk us through what had happened, almost like therapy for their benefit. It felt inhuman and traumatic.<\/p>\n

Within a couple of weeks, we were told she had an aggressive form of aplastic anemia \u2013 a rare and serious blood condition.<\/p>\n

Eventually, we learned the full truth about her death through a coroner\u2019s report and inquest, which was finally completed in February this year.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tWhat is aplastic anemia?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Aplastic anemia is a ‘serious condition affecting the blood, where the bone marrow and stem cells do not produce enough blood cells’. It is diagnosed by examining a sample of bone marrow.<\/p>\n

Symptoms include:<\/p>\n