Tragic death of autistic St Albans teen
The Autism News | English
AN inquest into the death of an autistic teenager, who had a history of hiding pain, was opened and adjourned at Herts Coroners Court on Friday.
Sophie Harmsworth, 14, died at Watford General Hospital, on February 12 this year, of acute peritonitis and acute gastro appendicitis. The inquest heard that she had been severely ill in the days leading up to her death and required home visits by a GP.
A statement by the teenager’s parents, read out by Herts coroner Frances Cranfield, said they had called the Highfield Surgery on February 8 as Sophie had been vomiting for two days.They described her as looking very poorly with “sunken eyes”.
The family was visited by Doctor Mark Bevis at their New House Park, St Albans, home that afternoon.
Dr Bevis told the inquest that he was aware of Sophie’s autism but that he hadn’t seen her for some years.
He knew that she didn’t like to be touched but said he was able to check her stomach for signs of involuntary reactions and expressions of pain which may have indicated appendicitis.
He also said that it would be unusual for someone who could hide pain to not show some sign of discomfort when suffering from appendicitis.
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