It’s a tragic story. But could it have been prevented?
Kirsty Derry was 120kg, morbidly obese, and addicted to food.
Placed into an assisted living facility called Victoria Mews in Stone, Staffordshire, her family believed that her insatiable appetite was being regularly monitored.
However, after just nine months in the facility, Kirsty died from pulmonary oedema (fluid in her lungs) which was thought to be caused by excessive eating.
Kristy reportedly gained 44 kilograms in the nine months she was living at Victoria Mews.
According to The Sentinal, the 23-year-old suffered from a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome. Prader-Willi Syndrome causes sufferers to have issues in growth and development and “excessive eating, which often leads to obesity”.
At an inquiry into Kristy’s death, her mother Julie Fallows spoke about her concerns leading up to her daughter’s death.
Julie said: “When she went there I expected one-to-one support between 8am to 10pm. When she first arrived, there were alarms fitted to the cupboards and fridge. But at some point that technology was removed without our knowledge. Often we couldn’t find any staff when we visited.
According to staff at the facility, alarms that were fitted to Kirsty’s fridge in order to curb her appetite were turned off by Kirsty because they “annoyed” her.
According to UK press, Kirsty was deemed mentally capable of making decisions for herself.
However, The Telegraph reported that an inquest found “she was allowed to gorge on chocolate and ice cream.”
Following the inquest into her daughter’s death, Kirsty’s mother spoke about her own attempts to stop Kirsty eating habits before making the decision to send her to assisted living.
“Before Kirsty went into supported living, I had a fridge and freezer in a pantry with a locked door, and the cupboards were high so she couldn’t reach them – food wasn’t readily available.
“Kirsty decided she wanted to live independently – she was a grown up and I wasn’t in a position to stop her. Of course I wanted her to stay at home with me, it’s a mother’s instinct – but I wanted her to be happy and have what she wanted.”
Julie continued, “It got worse and worse as time went on, sometimes staff were nowhere to be found. When she asked them to remove the assisted technology they just did it without even consulting me.”
Julie has blamed the staff at Victoria Mews for Kirsy’s death, as well as the social workers who suggested she live there, according to The Sentinal.
However, the Manager who oversaw Victoria Mews at the time of Kirsty’s death reportedly stated that “robust assessments” had been undertaken about Kirsty’s ability to understand her own actions.
According to The Sentinal, the coroner for the case, Andrew Haigh, stated that Kirsty died from a natural condition and concluded, “Hopefully appropriate lessons have been learned. The degree of her capacity seems to have deteriorated. She could understand matters but controlling herself having taken that information in, was a different matter.”
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Top Comments
I am the mother of an adult child with Prader-Willi Syndrome and anyone with this condition is NEVER going to be able to modify their eating behaviour. It has nothing to do with cognitive understanding because it is a genetic disorder, a physiological condition where the appetite control centre in the brain simply does not function. At this point in time the only way for PWS people to be prevented from eating themselves to death is for all access to food and money to be managed by people other than themselves. I find it extraordinary that the people who made the decision that Kirsty had the ability to understand her own actions, had so little knowledge of this incurable condition. My daughter fully understands what will happen if she has free access to food and money. She will eat herself to death. 'Knowing' this is not enough to stop the behaviour because even after eating enough for 10 men, her brain would be telling her that she was starving. Fortunately for my daughter she lives in a PWS specific group home where staff are on duty whenever there are any residents in the house (one has a supported job and the others attend day programs). The kitchen is securely locked and all meals are prepared out of sight of the residents then served to them. Since moving in just over 2 years ago my daughter has lost 44 kg and is delighted to have this aspect of her life managed for her because she cannot do it for herself. I repeat, she CANNOT do it for herself. So yes, I do think there is blame to be laid In Kirsty's case, even if decisions were made in ignorance. Perhaps the mother needed to be more proactive in educating the social workers and carers in her daughter's condition. The fact that alarms were removed from Kirsty's fridge because "they annoyed her" shows how little understanding of this cruel condition there was at that particular facility. In response to Aly saying that some people just can't be helped - people with PWS CAN be helped. The residents of my daughter's group home are proof of this.
I don't think it's anyone's fault that she died. It's heartbreaking for the family, however you can't blame other people for not watching someone 24/7. Her life would have been a constant struggle/financial strain and I believe that this was likely to happen one day - some people just can't be helped.