It is with great sadness that we share the news of young Ryleigh’s passing. Ryleigh passed away on November 8, 2021, just three months after being discharged from the hospital where she was born almost three years prior. Her parents were initially told that she would recover quickly, despite suffering from rhabdomyolysis. Tragically, this advice proved to be incorrect, and her parents now believe that Ryleigh’s death could have been prevented.
Said her parents, Andy Hillcoat and Caroline Bee, “We are very sad about the death of our little girl. I had to fight hard for a full investigation into her death. It has been a long and hard road. We are heartbroken by the coroner’s decision, even though there is strong evidence that Ryleigh’s rhabdomyolysis flare-up in August 2021 could have been managed well. We believe that Ryleigh should still be here today, but she was not given any chance of survival.”
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust President, Chris Barben, expressed condolences, saying, “First, I want to send my deepest condolences to Ryleigh’s family and everyone who was touched by her life, both personally and on behalf of everyone at the Trust.”
“While we know this cannot bring Ryleigh back, we will be carefully considering the Coroner’s findings around the way the Trust conducted itself during this tragic incident to ensure that we learn everything we can from what happened and work to prevent anything like it happening again.”
In 2022, Caroline’s sister-in-law Katie Hobbs ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon and organized a charity event to raise money for The Compassionate Friends. The event raised over £3,000. Katie wrote on the GoFundMe page, “My sister-in-law Caroline and her partner Andrew’s daughter Ryleigh died suddenly and out of the blue in November of last year. The loss of her has been terrible for her parents and everyone who knew her. She was a cute little girl with a big smile who brought so much magic and joy to everyone she met.”
Katie continued, “I’m running for The Compassionate Friends because they helped Ryleigh’s wonderful parents get through the worst time of their lives. The charity has put them in touch with other bereaved parents and has organized a retreat where they will meet others in person.”
