A mum with “a heart of gold” died waiting for her flight home from holiday. Now the family of Melissa Kinsella know why and are getting themselves checked.
Melissa, 30, suddenly collapsed at Antalya Airport, Turkey in May last year and tragically didn’t recover after loved ones raised more than £50,000 to fly her home. Hours after arriving in the UK, Melissa died.
It turns out the mother’s seizure and cardiac arrest was the result of undiagnosed Long QT syndrome – an inherited condition which affects how your heart beats.
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Other family members have since been diagnosed with the same condition since Melissa’s sudden death.
Her family said that Melissa is ‘still saving lives’, Liverpool Echo reports. Her mum Michelle, 52, said: “Melissa keeps saving lives. She was an organ donor and saved six lives and has continued to save lives by people getting tested.”
She added: “Melissa was my only child, and we were incredibly close. She had a heart of gold, she was always happy to help people out. She was bubbly and chatty too.”
“She worked in hair and beauty, but her priority was always her children. She loved being a mum. Melissa was fit and healthy, but she’d had two seizures in the months before her death. She had tests and was reassured there was nothing wrong, but of course the doctors were not looking for a heart defect at that stage.”
Melissa, from Moreton, Merseyside, died in May last year. In the 15 months since the 30-year-old’s death, multiple family members have been tested and diagnosed with Long QT syndrome.
Her cousin Nicole Waters suffered a similar seizure and cardiac arrest. The 28-year-old was fitted with an ICD – an implantable defibrillator – and was tested for Long QT syndrome.
She said: “I had eight cardiac arrests. I woke up one morning feeling really unwell and I was quite out of breath. I was going purple in the face and then went into cardiac arrest […] and put into a coma.”
Jessica New, from Leasowe, is Melissa’s second cousin and was diagnosed with the condition in February. The 32-year-old has been fitted with an ICD – which automatically shocks the heart into normal rhythm when and if she has a sudden cardiac arrest.
Speaking of her previous symptoms, Jessica said: “I have been having symptoms for around two years which included a few black outs, heart palpitations and anxiety attacks. I put the symptoms down to anxiety attacks.”
Jessica’s mum Frances Kinsella and sister Michelle Wright have also been diagnosed with Long QT syndrome. Jessica’s six children are awaiting results to see if they have the condition.
Jessica said: “On Melissa continuing to save lives. It’s a bittersweet thing really, but she’s helping us.” Melissa’s cousin Missy Smyth, from Leasowe, was also diagnosed with Long QT syndrome.
The 20-year-old said she went to AandE after feeling unwell in October last year. She went into cardiac arrest while there, with medics finding her heart rate was 380 beats per minute.
She later had a seizure and has since been fitted with an ICD. Speaking about her symptoms Missy said she would sometimes ‘hold her heart’ if she felt a sensation.
She added: “My partner said there were times I would be clawing the air in my sleep and I went to see the doctors over it. They thought it was sleep paralysis or something like that.”
Katie McCarthy’s 10-year-old son James is also a cousin of Melissa and is the youngest out of the family to be diagnosed with Long QT syndrome. The 38-year-old said: “It’s been three weeks now, three weeks ago he was diagnosed and a lot has changed.”
“He’s never going to be a footballer. He’s a huge LFC fan […] his dream has been shattered.” The family will be holding a fundraiser for the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital Charity and the Cardiac Risk in the Young on Saturday, September 14 between 3pm and 11pm at Sheridan’s in Wallasey Village.