Family left in grief

The two-year-old died at Dubbo Base Hospital last month, the day after she was sent home by emergency department staff.

The Western NSW Local Health District has expressed condolences to Mr and Mrs Blunt and a preliminary cause of death points to myocarditis - a presumed virus attacking the heart.

Ashley’s death will be further investigated by the Coroner.

In the meantime, her shell-shocked parents struggle to cope in a home still filled with children’s toys and paraphernalia.

“We spent five years trying to have a baby,’’ Mr and Mrs Blunt said.

“Ashley’s death still seems unreal but the more we say it, the more we can try to accept it.’’

The couple proudly showed off DVD footage recorded the afternoon before their cherished daughter fell ill.

The computer screen technologically savvy Ashley loved so much bursts into life as the pretty toddler laughs and sings while playing with a plastic slippery slide.

The images are a stark contrast to the photographs taken of a gravely ill Ashley just hours before she suffered a seizure and heart attack.

Mr and Mrs Blunt said hospital staff attempted resuscitation for half an hour.

“It was a shocking thing to watch,’’ they said.

“We wish now that we had been more forceful the previous day when emergency department staff told us to go home.

“We asked for tests to be undertaken in the hope of determining why Ashley was vomiting so much but doctors said tests would be cruel and intrusive. But (what) was more intrusive - giving her tests or letting her die?’’

Mr and Mrs Blunt said they knew something was wrong when Ashley started to vomit at 10pm on October 25.

After a visit to a general practitioner the following day they were advised to take Ashley to Dubbo Base Hospital as a matter of urgency.

“The doctor rang ahead to alert medical staff but we still had to wait in the emergency department for several hours,’’ Mr and Mrs Blunt said.

“Ashley was given diluted apple juice and we were told to take her home.

“The vomiting continued overnight and we contacted the hospital the next morning when we noticed a blue tinge around Ashley’s mouth. She was also having trouble breathing.

“She was taken to hospital by ambulance and doctors started doing all the tests we had asked for the day before. They were in the process of organising a transfer to Sydney when Ashley died.’’

The body was released just over a week later and a funeral service was held in Sydney on November 10.

Mr and Mrs Blunt have only lived in Dubbo six months. They used all their money transferring here from Sydney for a job that lasted just two weeks.

“We still have six months on the lease of the house so our plan is to remain in Dubbo for the time being.

“Nothing seems worthwhile without Ashley. We had such high hopes for her future. She was so smart and happy and healthy.’’

A bilingual child able to recite the alphabet and count to 20 in both English and Indonesian, Ashley was due to start pre-school in the new year.

Ashley would have turned three last week. Mrs Blunt still baked a cake and opened all the presents she already had wrapped.

“I went ahead with a celebration because I didn’t want to feel like she didn’t have a birthday,’’ Mrs Blunt said.

The Western NSW Local Health District declined to provide comment on Ashley’s death yesterday.

“The health district has been in contact with the family and will continue to offer support during this time,’’ a spokesman said.

“As this matter has been referred to the Coroner, it is not appropriate to make any comment at this time.’’