A heartbroken mother from Southampton has spoken out after her 18-month-old daughter died following what she describes as repeated dismissals of her concerns by medical professionals who insisted the toddler was "absolutely fine." Jacqueline Manley, 30, lost her daughter Connie in August 2024 after a devastating sequence of events that began with what seemed like routine childhood illness.
A Mother's Persistent Concerns
Jacqueline Manley had been regularly taking her daughter Connie to doctors and hospitals since birth due to persistent breathing difficulties. The stay-at-home mother of three noticed that Connie was particularly susceptible to infections, falling ill approximately once a month with symptoms including heavy breathing, high temperatures, and extreme lethargy.
"Connie was always the one out of my three children to pick up a bug," Jacqueline explained. "She was ill from birth, but she never got diagnosed with anything. My concerns were never taken seriously. When she was ill she would just lie there looking so limp and poorly."
Medical Dismissals and Misdiagnosis
Medical professionals repeatedly attributed Connie's laboured breathing to laryngomalacia, a common infant condition where floppy tissue from the vocal chords collapses inwards, causing wheezing. Doctors assured Jacqueline this wasn't a cause for concern and that Connie's oxygen levels were normal.
"I was always taking her to the hospital because she sounded like she was struggling to breathe," Jacqueline recalled. "But doctors would tell me her oxygen levels were absolutely fine. I knew there was something more going on - it was so frustrating."
The Final Illness
In July 2024, when Connie was 18 months old, she developed particularly severe symptoms including heavy breathing and fever. This time, when Jacqueline took her to the GP, they discovered her oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low to the 80s and immediately arranged hospital transfer.
At hospital, Connie was diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs. While typically mild in healthy adults, RSV can be serious for infants and older adults, and in rare cases can prove fatal.
Sent Home Despite Concerns
Following the RSV diagnosis, Connie was prescribed a three-day course of antibiotics and sent home. "They said she was fine," Jacqueline remembered. "I wasn't happy with this and questioned it, but they still sent her home."
Just twelve hours later, with Connie showing no improvement, Jacqueline contacted the hospital seeking to bring her daughter back in. She was advised to simply keep giving fluids, as that was "all they would do at the hospital."
Rapid Deterioration in Hospital
Jacqueline called 999 and Connie was readmitted to hospital. Over the next three days, Jacqueline fought with medical staff to take her daughter's condition seriously. "I was fighting with doctors to make them see how poorly she was but no one was listening to me," she said.
On the third day of this hospital stay, Jacqueline noticed Connie was blue and freezing cold. When she alerted a nurse, she was told Connie was "absolutely fine" and had actually had a good night. Jacqueline insisted on seeing a doctor, and within seconds of the doctor's arrival, Connie suffered a cardiac arrest.
Tragic Outcome and Lingering Questions
Connie passed away three weeks later in August 2024. The death report confirmed she died from significant brain injury due to hypoxic cardiac arrest, where the heart stops due to lack of oxygen, caused by RSV.
"How could she be in hospital and them not have a clue?" Jacqueline questioned. "On her death report it was confirmed she had low blood pressure readings, so they should have seen a cardiac arrest was brewing."
Medical professionals suggested the likely cause of Connie's cardiac arrest was a mucus blockage, possibly related to nebuliser treatment she was receiving in hospital. These medical devices turn liquid medicine into a fine mist for direct lung inhalation.
A Mother's Plea to Others
Jacqueline has been left without answers and deeply frustrated by what she perceives as a failure to listen to her concerns. "I just don't have any answers," she said. "It's just horrible - you wouldn't think something like this would happen in this day and age."
She now urges other parents to trust their instincts: "I urge mothers to trust your guts. A mother's instinct is always right. Just because you have a doctor stood next to you doesn't mean they're right at all."
Remembering her daughter, Jacqueline added: "She was the loveliest and happiest little girl. We all miss her so much."
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, which oversees medical services in the Southampton area, has been contacted for comment regarding this tragic case that raises serious questions about pediatric care protocols and parental concern recognition within the NHS system.
