Heartbroken Mum Claims Daughter Would ‘Still Be Here’ If Given Lifesaving Oxygen Monitor After Cancer Treatment

A grieving mother has spoken out after losing her two-year-old daughter following treatment for a brain tumour. Zoe Cox believes that if her daughter Tallulah had been given a vital overnight oxygen monitor, she would still be alive today.

An inquest into Tallulah’s death heard that NHS consultants denied a request for the device as there was not enough clinical evidence to suggest she was experiencing breathing difficulties at night. Her mother has now called on medical professionals to listen more closely to parents who she says understand their children better than anyone else.

Tallulah first became unwell in May 2022 and was initially tested for viral meningitis. After undergoing a lumbar puncture and receiving antibiotics, an MRI scan revealed a mass on her brain. She was diagnosed with an ependymoma, a tumour that forms in the fluid-filled spaces of the brain.

Surgeons at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle removed the tumour the day after her diagnosis. Tallulah was then enrolled in a European trial for proton beam therapy at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, making her one of the youngest patients to undergo this treatment. The targeted radiotherapy took place over six weeks in the summer of 2022, followed by five chemotherapy sessions in the North East, according to Chronicle Live.

However, Tallulah was unable to complete her full course of chemotherapy after developing necrotising fasciitis of the upper lip and tongue along with brain stem necrosis, a rare side effect of radiotherapy. These complications left her paralyzed and unable to chew, swallow, smell, or sit up.

Her condition worsened when she suffered two episodes of apnoea in which she stopped breathing. The first occurred while she was in her car seat, prompting her parents to request an overnight oxygen monitor. This request was denied by consultants at the RVI, who instead provided a portable oxygen monitor for daytime use. A sleep study was also prescribed but was not scheduled to take place until November 9, 2023, months after it had been requested and beyond the NHS’s national target.

Tragically, Tallulah died in her sleep at home on November 2, 2023, just one week before the scheduled sleep study. The inquest heard that had an oxygen monitor been in place, it would have sounded an alarm, giving Zoe the chance to respond.

Coroner Kirsten Mercer acknowledged the concerns but stated that she could not conclude with certainty that an oxygen monitor would have prevented Tallulah’s death. She ruled that the child died due to known complications from necessary treatment for a natural disease.

Zoe Cox passionately told the inquest that parents should be taken more seriously when raising concerns about their children’s health. She insisted that had she been given the right equipment, she could have repositioned her daughter or attempted to resuscitate her.

Consultant respiratory paediatrician Dr Michael McKean described Tallulah’s death as a tragedy and fully acknowledged the importance of listening to parents in medical decision-making.

The coroner decided against issuing a Regulation 28 report, which is used to recommend changes aimed at preventing future deaths. However, Zoe remains determined to ensure that other parents’ voices are heard so no other family has to go through the same heartbreak.