Scots footballer, 16, dies after Christmas flu infection led to sepsis
A teenage girl who contracted flu over Christmas has died after the infection led to sepsis.
Orla Taylor, 16, had "a bit of a cough" on the run-up to holidays before developing a temperature on Christmas Day. The "fit and healthy" youngster, from Turriff in Aberdeenshire, started vomiting and attended the out-of-hours G-doc service at Inverurie Hospital twice between Christmas and New Year.
Orla’s flu led to a respiratory infection which then developed into sepsis.
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With her mum Fiona by her side and dad Scott following behind them in the car, she was rushed by ambulance to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on Hogmanay.
On arriving at the hospital just after midnight, Orla, a talented footballer who was a player-coach for local youth team Turriff United, was still "her usual happy self" despite being incredibly unwell.
But doctors soon broke the news that she would have to be put into a medical coma to best treat her condition - and by mid-afternoon of New Year’s Day, Orla had tragically passed away.
Speaking to the Press and Journal, dad Scott said: "We just miss her so much. We never dreamt for one moment we would lose her. Both times [we visited the out-of-hours hospital] we were told she had flu.
"By Hogmanay she was much worse so we called for emergency help. We are so incredibly grateful to the nurse practitioner and paramedics who immediately began treating Orla, believing it to be sepsis. We couldn’t fault the care she received. From that first nurse responder to the resus team, to the medics in intensive care who all did everything they could. We are so, so thankful.
"Her brother and sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles, made it to see her and to speak with her, which we are really grateful for. We all miss her terribly. The weight of grief on everyone is immeasurable."
Orla has been remembered as a "fun-loving girl" who loved family holidays and had a passion for sport. The popular youngster, who worked part-time for department store Celebrations of Turriff, left school last summer aged 16. It's understood the confident girl “who could talk to anybody” was excited to complete her uniformed services course to join the army.
Paying tribute, Scott said: “We’ll treasure memories of her – cuddled up on the couch with us – enjoying family movie nights and daft games nights too. She was such a happy, outgoing girl. It isn’t real for us yet that we won’t see her again.”
In a tribute, her club Turriff United, said "words could not describe" how they were all feeling.
They said: "Orla was a vibrant young player who played such an important role in our girls section over the years. She had a smile on her face for everyone and a great role model for our younger players.
"We will remember Orla in our own way as a club, however this tragic news is still very raw within our girls teams and the club as a whole and we are taking the time to support them through this sad time."
Sepsis, which is a life-threatening condition, arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs, with the immune system going into overdrive.
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