Angel of Death by John Askill Read Free Book Online

nothing was said.
    After five days the twins were sent home but doctors still couldn’t explain why they had been ill. James came home two days later. Then Becky became ill again; frantic, Sue was getting to the end of her tether.
    She said: ‘I took her back to the hospital. What else could I do? She was throwing up all over the place.’ It was ‘projectile vomiting’ which, Sue said, two-month-old Becky could send flying almost three feet.
    ‘But they made me feel paranoid. The doctor who came said: “What is it this time, Mrs Phillips?”
    ‘I suppose you couldn’t blame him, but Becky was ill and there was nothing I could do about that.’
    Doctors finally discovered that the type of milk being given to the twins was the cause of the problem. The hospital used ready-mixed baby’s milk but Sue mixed her own from powder.
    Relieved that the problem had been identified Sue went to bring Becky home from the hospital on 4 April and was pleased to hear that she had just been fed. She was surprised, however, when Nurse Allitt told her that it was not a good idea forBecky to go home, and tried to persuade her to leave her in the hospital.
    Sue said: ‘She didn’t want her to go home. She said she didn’t like the look of her and thought she should stay in. The Sister on duty had a good look at her and said Becky seemed fine to her and told me I could take her. The decision seemed to annoy Nurse Allitt.’
    Sue, happy to have the babies together again at home, put them both straight into their baby chairs in the lounge so they could sleep and, with Peter still not home from work, she sat down in front of the TV at 7.30pm to enjoy the start of her favourite programme, ‘EastEnders’.
    She thought the nightmare was finally over. But it was only about to begin.
    Becky started to scream. Sue rushed over to pick her up. Surely she couldn’t need feeding again so soon? She must be still full from the hospital.
    Sue said: ‘The screams stopped as I held her. I was looking into her face, watching for a sign of what might be wrong, when I saw her eyeballs just drop down to the bottom of their sockets. I was just looking at the whites of her eyes, nothing more.
    ‘I thought I was seeing things. It was awful and I didn’t know what it was. Then, just as quickly as it had started, it was over.
    ‘I had to feed Katie and James was playing up, then Katie started crying and I was literally tearing my hair out wondering what to do next when Peter finally came home from work at about 8 o’clock.’
    Sue was holding Becky, who was crying in herarms, and Peter took her. He was still holding her when she let out another awful scream. She was not yet nine weeks old but the sound was ear-piercing.
    Sue said: It was as if someone had stabbed her. It was a pitiful scream that will haunt me for the rest of my life.’
    Frantically they wondered what could be wrong with her. Sue thought it must be wind. Peter said: ‘That’s the cry of a kid in pain.’
    Sue remembers snapping back at him: ‘Don’t be ridiculous. She only came out of hospital four hours ago.’
    Peter suggested calling the doctor but Sue would have none of it because she didn’t want to be seen as a nuisance. She said afterwards: ‘I should have let him. I should have listened to him then, but I didn’t.’
    She convinced herself that Becky must have wind because, if it had been anything more serious, the hospital would have found it.
    They put Jamie to bed and Katie fell asleep downstairs. Becky was awake but quiet and seemed happy.
    Then at 10.30pm it started again. She was screaming and crying and contorting her face. ‘She was doing weird things with her face, twisting it up,’ said Sue. ‘It looked as though she could be having an epileptic fit. We began to panic because we didn’t know what was happening.’
    Peter telephoned for the emergency doctor and a local GP arrived at about 11pm. He watchedBecky’s face contort and heard her screams. It could be