A 'bright and bubbly' 14-year-old girl from Stalybridge has died of acute liver failure, just two weeks after first complaining of a tummy ache. Maisie Almond passed away on October 2, the day after a donor liver was found for her, but she was too weak to undergo the transplant operation.
Maisie, a Manchester City fan who dreamed of becoming an accountant, first felt unwell on September 15 after returning home from her volunteer job at a charity shop. Her parents initially thought it was a tummy bug, but when she developed jaundice, they took her to Tameside Hospital for tests. She was later diagnosed with acute liver failure and transferred to Leeds General Infirmary on September 27.
At Leeds, Maisie was placed at the top of the donor list. A matching donor liver was found on October 1, and she was taken to theatre around 11pm. However, her condition had deteriorated so rapidly that surgeons deemed her too weak to survive the 12-hour procedure. She died in the early hours of October 2.
Her parents, Kathryn and Stuart, praised hospital staff for doing everything possible. 'Acute liver failure can happen within days with no warning signs,' Kathryn said. 'She had no underlying health conditions and was a picture of health.'
Describing their daughter as 'bright and bubbly' and 'smiling all the time', they said she loved volunteering, shopping, and watching her favourite football player Phil Foden. Maisie was a Year 10 student at All Saints Catholic College in Dukinfield.
