A 16-year-old, who was described as "very healthy", died just days after complaining of a sore throat.William Jones, from Wellington, New Zealand developed a sore throat which is seemingly harmless but after other symptoms like a persistent cough started presenting themselves, his worried mom, Rebecca Rollason, rang the doctors.She was allegedly told to give her son "plenty of fluids" before ringing back the next day if his symptoms got worse.Unfortunately, William did not make it through the night.Credit: GiveaLittleRebecca went to check on her son in the morning but was left devastated when she discovered his body lying next to his bed.Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, the heartbroken mother-of-three described losing her son as a "nightmare.""As you can imagine we just don’t understand and cannot believe he is gone," she said. "It feels like the worst nightmare that we cannot wake from."The 16-year-old's sore throat started on Tuesday (June 11), and his mom called the doctors on Thursday. But sadly, by Friday, William died."We just don’t understand how this can happen to a boy who was barely ever sick and was very healthy," Rebecca continued. "We ask ourselves how what started as a sore throat, snotty nose, and a cough on Tuesday to no longer with us three days later."No one understands, we don’t know what happened. We have to wait for results," she added.An investigation into what caused the teenager's death is now underway while the family waits to see what could have killed their loved one in a matter of days.William was a student at Upper Hutt College and was known for his musical talents. The news of his death has sent ripped throughout the wider community.“William was an amazing, talented and very bright kind boy who we love so very much,” his mom told the outlet. "He was a talented musician and had his future all planned out.""It is an incredibly hard and devastating time for us," she concluded.In the meantime, a friend close to the family has set up a GiveALittle page in order to aid the family during this difficult time."I have set up this page to help Rebecca and her 2 remaining sons with funeral costs and to alleviate financial burden during this grieving period. It is every parent's worst nightmare and a shocking tragedy to lose a healthy child from a sudden and brief illness," read the description.Credit: GiveALittleIn an update posted to the page, it was said that the family is grateful for the donations so far, which has just hit over $17,000.Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.Featured Image Credit: GiveALittle

A young woman, Bethannie Booth, tragically lost her life just weeks after developing a sore throat.

The 24-year-old bid a touching farewell to her family and even planned her own funeral before being put into a medically induced coma.

Bethannie, an elementary school teacher from Wales, United Kingdom, started showing symptoms of illness on March 2. She noticed red bumps on her face, experienced a minor sore throat, and dealt with a headache, her sister, Nia-ffion Davies, 27, revealed to BBC News.

A sudden breathing difficulty on March 5 led to her immediate hospitalization at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. She was swiftly put into resuscitation and moved to the intensive care unit soon after. It was discovered that a Strep A infection had caused Bethannie's lung to collapse.

Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty

This infectious bacteria has been spreading rapidly across the UK, contributing to a rise in scarlet fever cases. Bethannie's health further declined as she contracted sepsis, a life-threatening response of the body to infection, often originating from the lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Medical professionals decided to put Bethannie in a coma to give her organs a chance to recover. During this critical time, Bethannie sent some poignant messages to her loved ones, expressing her fear of dying but maintaining her spirit of light-heartedness.

Her sister, Megan Booth, 25, reflected on these messages, saying, "It kills me that she felt that, she must have been scared, but she was still able to crack a joke."

Bethannie had even started planning her own funeral, instructing her mother to enforce a ban on black attire and insist on bright, vibrant colors instead.

She was later moved to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where she spent two-and-a-half weeks on an ECMO machine, a device that aids breathing by using an artificial lung.

Bethannie showed signs of recovery and was transferred back to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. However, she contracted sepsis once again and sadly passed away on March 31, surrounded by her family.

Her father, Wayne Booth, recounted her final moments, "All four of us went in to see her. We were holding her hand and she took her last breath."

The family hopes that by sharing Bethannie's story, they can raise awareness about sepsis and its symptoms, which include difficulty breathing, blotchy skin, and a rash.

Wayne Booth urged, "If we can save one poor family going through what we’ve gone through, we’ve accomplished something. A sore throat is not always a sore throat."

Echoing this sentiment, Ms. Davies added, "If you feel like things are wrong, if you suspect that anything’s wrong, don’t let anyone tell you that there’s nothing wrong."

Featured image credit: David Sacks / Getty

A woman has sadly died just weeks after falling ill with a sore throat.

Bethannie Booth, 24, shared her farewells to her loved ones and even planned her own funeral before she was placed in a coma.

On March 2, the elementary school teacher, from Wales, United Kingdom, began noticing red bumps on her face, "a little bit" of a sore throat, and a headache, her 27-year-old sister, Nia-ffion Davies told BBC News.

When she suddenly struggled to breathe on March 5, she was immediately taken to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital and was put into resuscitation before being taken to the intensive care unit.

It then emerged that Bethannie’s lung had collapsed due to a Strep A infection.

The contagious bacteria has been affecting large swathes of the UK, leading to an increase in the number of scarlet fever cases.

The elementary school teacher then began battling sepsis, a life-threatening medical emergency in which the body has an extreme response to an infection. Infections that develop into sepsis often begin in the lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It was decided by doctors that Bethannie be placed in a coma in order to allow her organs time to recover. It was around this time that the 24-year-old sent some heartbreaking messages to her loved ones, telling them she thought she was going to die. Despite the serious nature of the messages, Bethannie made light of her situation.

Megan Booth, 25, Bethannie’s other sister, said: "It kills me that she felt that, she must have been scared, but she was still able to crack a joke."

Bethannie also started planning her own funeral and told her mom to ban black attire - all outfits had to be bold and colorful.

Symptom of sepsis. Credit: Thomas Lukassek / Alamy

She was later transferred to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where she spent two-and-a-half weeks on an ECMO machine, which assists a patient with their breathing using an artificial lung.

Bethannie’s condition began to improve and she was transferred back to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, where she soon developed sepsis again and passed away on March 31 surrounded by her family.

Speaking of her last moments, Bethannie’s dad Wayne Booth said: "All four of us went in to see her. We were holding her hand and she took her last breath."

Her family hope by sharing her story, they can raise awareness of which signs to look out for when it comes to sepsis.

Symptoms include finding it difficult to breathe, blotchy skin and a rash.

Mr Booth said: "If we can save one poor family going through what we’ve gone through, we’ve accomplished something. A sore throat is not always a sore throat."

Ms Davies added: "If you feel like things are wrong, if you suspect that anything’s wrong, don’t let anyone tell you that there’s nothing wrong."

Featured image credit: Daisy-Daisy / Alamy

A 21-year-old man who believed that he had backache from a bad mattress tragically passed away from cancer just a few days later.

Gerald Green, from Scotland, initially believed that his backache meant that he needed to replace his bed, but he soon began vomiting and eventually coughing up blood, signaling a grave underlying issue.

Attempting to conceal his symptoms from his parents, Paula and Gerry, Gerald's mother intervened when his health deteriorated further, rushing him to the hospital on January 19, per the Daily Record.

Medical professionals discovered severe anemia upon examination and promptly proceeded with surgery to drain his kidney.

However, complications arose during the operation, leading Gerald to temporarily stop breathing, necessitating resuscitation and induction into a coma.

Upon awakening, Gerald received the devastating news of an incurable, highly aggressive cancer ravaging his body. The diagnosis, delivered on January 26, left his family reeling, informed that the cancer had spread extensively, infiltrating his bones and bloodstream.

Tragically, Gerald passed away on January 30, mere hours after being transferred to St Vincent's Hospice for end-of-life care, leaving his loved ones in profound shock.

In the wake of this heartbreaking loss, Gerald's cousin Ailley Colquhoun, started a GoFundMe page to honor Gerald's memory and alleviate financial burdens for his funeral arrangements.

Credit: GoFundMe

"Following the sudden passing of our beloved Gerald at only 21 years old. We would like to raise money to take the financial pressure off his mum Paula and dad Gerry at this heartbreaking time and help pay for the funeral," the page read.

It continued: "This as you can imagine has came as a massive shock to the family as he was only just diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer on Friday 26th Jan after a week of tests and waiting for answers and has now tragically passed away.

"Gerald was a handsome, funny and polite boy who had his whole life ahead of him and deserves the best send off. He will be greatly missed by everyone around him."

The page has now disabled new donations, but it raised £6,686 ($8,425) during the time that it was active.

On February 14, Ailley offered an update on how the money was used, stating: "Thank you so much to everyone for all your kind words and donations. It is greatly appreciated by the family. Gerald had an amazing send off thanks to everyone’s generosity."

Our thoughts are with Gerald's family and friends during this difficult time.

Featured image credit: SDI Productions / Getty

A teenager tragically passed away at a hospital after assuring her mom that she was "fine".Ray Williams was an 18-year-old who worked at the local pub in Nyngan, a town in Australia.Ray Williams died suddenly after being rushed to hospital. Credit: GoFundMeThe teenager was rushed to the hospital after her health suddenly deteriorated on Monday morning (September 30), as reported by Daily Mail Australia.Ray's brother, Mitchell, revealed that his sister had "pneumonia-like symptoms" and was told by her mom to go to the Emergency Department at Nyngan Hospital the day before sudden death, but she refused, saying she was "fine""Mom literally had to drag her to the hospital on Monday morning because she was so worried, then everything happened so quickly," Mitchell said. "Ray seemed as though she was getting better when I arrived at the hospital, then when they went to move her to go to the helicopter, things took a bad turn and she sadly passed away that afternoon."She had been revived twice, and the hospital and retrieval team did everything they could to save her, but unfortunately she was septic," he added.The grieving sibling revealed the coroner was now determining the cause of his beloved sister's death.However, it's believed that Ray may have had meningococcal disease (meningitis), a bacteria that infects "the lining of the brain and spinal cord and cause swelling," per CDC. This may have led to sepsis.Mitchell, who works in the wellbeing team at Nyngan High School, has paid tribute to his dear sister, saying she was "always smiling" and "always up for a yarn" before her tragic death. "She was the type of person who always went out of their way for other people, going above and beyond to help," he shared, per the outlet. "Even when she was sick in hospital, all she was worried about was telling her boss she wouldn't be able to make it to work that night."She had the kindest heart and was loved by everyone who was lucky enough to be in her life," he added.Credit: GoFundMeThe family has set up a GoFundMe page to help them with financial costs for the funeral and memorial. As of the time of writing, $34,565 AUD ($23,500 USD) has been raised of the $40,000 AUD ($27,000) goal."Any support, whether through a donation or sharing this page, would mean the world to us as we navigate this difficult time," the page description reads. "Thank you for your kindness and generosity."Our thoughts are with Ray's loved ones at this time.Featured image credit: SDI Productions / Getty