'Doctors said our toddler's illness was a one-off - three months later she was dead'

The heart-broken parents of a toddler who died from a rare disorder say they feel let down by doctors after being told her illness was a 'one-off'. Ryleigh Hillcoat-Bee died in Blackpool in November 2021 aged just three-years-old, LancsLive reports.

It was only after after multiple tests were carried out by experts at Alder Hey, Sheffield and Newcastle hospitals, after her death that it was discovered she had a Lipin 1 deficiency, an 'extremely rare' disorder that occurs in around one in every 200,000 people, an inquest heard.

Ryleigh was born in Blackpool on September 19, 2018, following a "fairly uneventful" pregnancy. Her mum, Caroline Bee, had to be induced because she developed high blood pressure but Ryleigh was healthy and her proud parents took her home two days later, an inquest was told today (June 19).

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In 2021, after Covid lockdown restrictions were eased, mum Caroline and dad Andrew Hillcoat took Ryleigh for a holiday in North Wales. When they returned home, on August 7, they suspected Ryleigh was coming down with a cold and two days later they took her to A&E at Blackpool Victoria Hospital after she became floppy and lethargic, Blackpool Coroners' Court heard.

Doctors discovered that Ryleigh had elevated levels of potassium in her blood as well as a high heartrate and breathing rate. At one point Ryleigh's urine was "as dark as Coca-Cola" but nurses suggested the sample could have been contaminated with diarrhoea even though Caroline and Andrew had not noticed any.

Tests revealed Ryleigh had "extraordinarily high" levels of Creatine Kinase, which can indicate a muscle injury or disease but doctors allowed Ryleigh to go home with her