Published: Wednesday, 13th February, 2008 12:30
Toddler's gift of life
By Nicola Findlay
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Muireann's tragic death has given the gift of life to two other children.
Child who died in tragic accident donates heart valves
A MENSTRIE toddler who died in a tragic accident has given two other children the precious gift of life.
Muireann McLaughlin – described by her devastated parents Kate and Angus as a “beautiful, happy little girl who was full of life” – died last Tuesday after becoming tangled in a window blind cord in her bedroom.
She was found by Angus and taken to Stirling Royal Infirmary but couldn’t be revived.
Despite their devastating loss, Angus and Kate gave permission for Muireann’s heart valves to be taken for transplant after she died “to allow two other children life”.
They are also asking for donations to be made to The British Heart Foundation and The Make a Wish Foundation.
Muireann’s tragic death – and life-saving donations – comes just a couple of weeks after the Advertiser launched the ‘Sign up for Life’ campaign, encouraging people to sign up to the organ donation register.
Angus and Kate have paid tribute to the two-and-a-half-year-old, who was due to start nursery after the summer.
They said that the loss of their beautiful daughter has left a huge hole in their family.
They said, “Muireann was inquisitive, sociable and articulate with a great imagination and loved making up characters for her toy figures and giving them voices and stories to act out. She loved dancing especially in church when the music played.
“Muireann was a very loving child who adored her older brother and sister, Aoife and Cian. They adored her as well and she loved giving kisses and cuddles.
“She brought so much joy to all our lives and her loss has left us all simply devastated.
“At this moment it is difficult to quantify but her loss has left a huge hole in our family.”
On Angus’ Bebo page the family described the toddler as “their little princess” and “a vibrant individual who touched the life of all who knew her and was adored by her siblings and mummy and daddy, and absolutely beautiful in all ways”.
Tributes have also been placed on the web page from friends of the family as well as colleagues of Angus, who was a founding member of the ceilidh band Deaf Shepard before later joining another band, Canterach.
One tribute from a friend reads, “We are absolutely devastated for your loss – our thoughts and love are with you, Kate and the family, we are thinking of you.”
The terrible accident has also touched people out with the county, who have also been leaving messages of condolence.
Another message read, “Nobody can really tell what you and your family are going through at the moment. I’m from Fife, and I have to say your tragic news has touched a lot of people through here.”
A former pupil of Kate, who is a primary school teacher, also left a message of condolence for the family.
Clackmannanshire Council is providing support to pupils and staff at Menstrie Primary, which is attended by Muireann’s brother and sister.
A council spokeswoman said, “Clackmannanshire Council would like to express our sympathies to the family of Muireann McLaughlin who died in a tragic accident at home.
“The community is shocked and saddened by the events.”
The Rev. Mairi Lovett, who is a minister in the village, also spoke of the shock in the small community.
“The thoughts and prayers of the whole community are with the family at this very sad time,” she said.
Gordon Banks MP, who encouraged the Advertiser to launch the ‘Sign Up for Life’ campaign, paid tribute to Muireann’s parents.
He told the Advertiser, “I don’t want to impinge on the family’s grief but it was an absolute tragedy that this innocent little girl lost her life.
“ The only positive that can come out of a situation like this is that the gift of life has been given to another.
“The nature of heart valve donations means that a family has gone through a tragedy in order to alleviate the suffering of another, and it is hard to comprehend that one so young has been the victim of such a tragic and devastating accident.
“The parents must be very strong to have given the go ahead to donate and they have shown tremendous courage at what is a very difficult time.”
Roger Vincent, a spokesperson for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, told the Advertiser that accidents involving blind cords were not uncommon.
He said, “This is a terrible tragedy and I really do feel for the parents of the little girl. However, this type of accident is more common than people think, with one or two every year in the UK, and we have to learn from this so other parents don’t have suffer in the same way.
“Unfortunately this is the kind of hazard that people don’t think about in their own homes and something like a window blind may seem fairly innocuous.
“Our advice is for parents to look in their home for any pulls and cords, not just window blinds but also things like curtains, and cut them to get rid of the loop.
“It is also important to keep them well out of reach, as young children especially are very inquisitive and quick. They can get into things before the parents can do anything about it.”
The McLaughlin family are understood to have moved to Menstrie two years ago and live close to Kate’s parents, Jon and Beryl Searle, who have been in the village for more than 20 years.
Angus, who is originally from Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, is a radiology manager at a hospital in Glasgow.
Muireann’s funeral was due to take place yesterday (Wednesday) at St Paul’s Church in Kinross, before the burial at Alva Cemetery.
A report into the circumstances of the accident will be submitted to the procurator fiscal as is standard procedure with any sudden death.
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