2 days ago
Death of Symerien Brooking at Perth Children's Hospital sparks calls for coronial inquest
The parents of a 10-year-old girl who died in WA's main paediatric hospital last August say their desperate pleas for a brain scan were ignored until it was too late — and they want a coronial inquest.
WARNING: This story contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.
Symerien Brooking was taken to Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) via ambulance when her mother, Sharyn Morris, found her unresponsive on the dining room floor.
The young girl was unable to stop vomiting and once in hospital, had multiple seizures, one of which lasted for 45 minutes.
Symerien — who was born with an extremely rare and complex congenital disease and who lived with numerous medical conditions — was under the care of a neurologist at PCH and had presented twice that year with seizure activity.
Ms Morris and her partner Aaron Bransby say they repeatedly asked for a CT scan of Symerien's brain, but one wasn't done until seven hours after she arrived.
The scan found significant bleeding, and surgery was done to insert drains to remove the fluid, but it didn't work.
Ms Morris and Mr Bransby had to make the decision to take their daughter off life support.
"We both had a lot of people around us, obviously friends and family supporting us," Mr Bransby said.
"But it doesn't take the pain away from losing someone that you never think you're going to lose."
Symmie — as she was known — died in the hospital almost 48 hours after she had arrived.
The loss is almost too much to bear for Ms Morris who was herself a grandmother when she took on caring for 10-day-old Symmie in 2014.
"It has changed my life forever," she said, tears streaming down her face.
"My life will never be the same. Never.
"I will never hear her say, 'I love you Mummy' again.
"I will never get to hold her and feel her love ever again because they wouldn't listen."
The ABC first told the story of Symmie's remarkable life and Ms Morris' relentless pursuit for her daughter's survival in 2019.
When Symmie was born, doctors gave her little more than a year to live.
But the girl with the "cheeky smile and infectious laugh" didn't abide by anyone else's rules, she made her own.
And with the ongoing love, support and advocacy of Ms Morris, and later Mr Bransby, Symmie defied almost every expectation her medical condition dictated.
She wasn't expected to walk. She did.
She wasn't expected to talk. She did.
"She was excelling, she was growing, she was developing — not just in her body but developing in her mind," Ms Morris said.
"Her brain turned into a little sponge, and she just wanted to know so much … she knew the solar system, she knew it inside and out, she could line all the planets up."
Ms Morris said Symmie's prognosis had never been more positive and her overall care plan had gone from being one focused on providing quality of life to including quantity.
One of Symmie's doctors had even told her he expected her daughter would outlive her, she said.
"I felt my role in the last 12 months of Symmie's life was to teach her to be as independent as possible," Ms Morris said.
"I was teaching her to be strong enough to survive in this world without me, not me without her."
According to the coroner, Symmie died from complications of a brain bleed, its cause still not clear to Ms Morris and Mr Bransby.
It's why they want a coronial inquest.
A hospital investigation into Symmie's death found the care she received was appropriate and her death was non-preventable, with her medical history highlighted as a factor.
Ms Morris and Mr Bransby don't agree.
Ms Morris said she was told the scan wasn't done because of concerns about radiation exposure, so she asked for her daughter's neurologist at the hospital to be contacted.
But this was was not done, she said.
"I yelled and I screamed, and I begged but I was not heard," Ms Morris said.
"No one listened to us."
Their anguish aligns with that of other parents whose children have died in WA hospitals, including that of Aishwarya Aswath in 2021 at PCH, and Sandipan Dhar who died in March last year at Joondalup Health Campus.
Ms Morris wants systemic and cultural change so more weight is given to the voices of patients, parents and caregivers — and so Symmie's death was not in vain.
"She was here for a reason," Ms Morris said.
"She touched so many people's lives, and she taught so many people so much about life.
"She's an unforgettable person."
The ABC sent a list of detailed questions about Symmie's death and the investigation to the Department of Health and the Child and Adolescent Health Service, which oversees PCH, but did not receive a response.
Health Minister Meredith Hammat attended Symmie's funeral as the family's local member and said she would continue to support Ms Morris to get answers.
But she stopped short of supporting her calls for an inquest.
"Symmie was an incredible little girl and loved by many people in our community," Ms Hammat said.
"Sharyn is a strong woman and a fearless advocate, and I'm sorry for her loss.
"I won't discuss the details of our meetings, but it is my firm view that parents and guardians should be listened to. They know their child best."
