A devastated father-to-be whose girlfriend and newborn baby died just hours apart has revealed his little girl took her last breath in the arms of her dead mother.
Mellodie-Ocean Jarman, 19, from Atherton in Greater Manchester and her daughter Athena-Pearl died on February 2.
The tragedy came little more than a day after ‘fit and healthy’ Mellodie complained of feeling faint and dizzy during a routine pregnancy scan on January 31 and was sent home with medication and antibiotics.
But the following evening at 11.20pm, Mellodie began to complain she was having difficulties breathing and struggling to see and an ambulance was called.
Shortly after the call was made, the teenager fell unconscious and stopped breathing, collapsing into her mother’s arms.
Paramedics desperately tried to revive her by performing CPR and she was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital.
Doctors there carried out an emergency C-section and Mellodie gave birth to baby Athena-Pearl seven weeks early, at 12.32am on Sunday. Tragically Mellodie died around 80 minutes after the operation while tiny Athena-Pearl died hours later.
Now grief stricken Daniel Darbyshire, 18, has spoken of his anguish and said: ‘At the moment, I’m just lost. I’m pretty much lost and heartbroken.’
Grief stricken Daniel Darbyshire, 18, has spoken out about the loss of his baby girl Athena-Pearl (pictured) and girlfriend Mellodie-Ocean Jarman
Mellodie and Daniel had been looking forward to welcoming their first child into the world
But on January 31, Mellodie complained of feeling faint and dizzy. She died days later, on February 2. Her little girl, born seven weeks early by emergency C-section, died hours later
Chef Daniel, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, told how he had placed his tiny baby girl in her dead mother’s arms so that she could take her last breath with her mother.
He then pushed his daughter back from the mortuary in a pram, and the family were able to bathe and baptise her.
Mellodie was 33 weeks pregnant when was rushed to hospital just a day after she had complained of feeling unwell.
Tragically she collapsed and died despite the efforts of medics.
Their unborn child Athena-Pearl was delivered by emergency C-section an hour later but doctors warned Daniel that she was unlikely to survive and she died away a few hours later.
Daniel, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, said: ‘I feel lost, I’m not sure what to do.
‘Mellodie would normally give me an insight on what to do and keep life as a structure, now it’s gone.
‘At the moment, I’m just lost. The big word is pretty much lost and heartbroken, really.’
Mellodie smiling with pride with her positive pregnancy test. Tragically she died around an hour after medics performed an emergency C-section
Mellodie leaves behind her partner Daniel Darbyshire after both her and her baby passed within a few hours of one another
The young mother, from Atherton in Greater Manchester, complained about feeling faint and dizzy on her way to a routine pregnancy scan on Friday, January 31
Mellodie first complained of feeling faint and dizzy on her way to a scan on Friday, January 31.
A doctor said she had low iron levels, and prescribed her liquid iron and antibiotics before the couple, who had been together for more than two and a half years, returned home.
Daniel added: ‘The day after she was fine throughout the day, we were watching telly and taking pictures, just messing around. She seemed fine.
‘Then, on Saturday night she had the same again, saying she couldn’t hear and she could see white, like she did on Friday, and that she was struggling to breathe.’
She was later rushed into hospital when had difficulties breathing and was struggling to see.
Medics at the Royal Bolton Hospital desperately tried to revive her by performing CPR and performed an emergency C-section to deliver Athena.
Tragically Mellodie died around an hour after the operation and baby Athena was put on life support, but the family were told she wasn’t likely to pull through.
Doctors allowed them to place Athena in Mellodie’s arms in the hospital mortuary to take her last breath.
Daniel then pushed Athena in a pram back to the hospital’s neonatal unit to be bathed and get dressed.
He said: ‘At the time Mellodie passed it was heartbreaking, we were praying for baby to make it and try and survive.
The day after her scan, Mellodie began to complain she was having difficulties breathing and struggling to see. Pictured: Mellodie with her partner Daniel
Mellodie was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital as paramedics desperately tried to revive her by performing CPR. Pictured: Mellodie with her partner Daniel
‘They tried giving baby every medication they could to try and help her, but the medication wasn’t working and the baby’s vitals and blood pressure were dropping.
‘That’s when we decided to move her and they took us down to the place where Mellodie was, while still giving baby oxygen, so baby would have her last breath with Mellodie as she got placed into her arms.’
Just weeks earlier, the couple had booked their first holiday together and were even talking about buying their own home.
Daniel took Mellodie on a two-night getaway to the luxury Carden Park Hotel in Chester as the couple prepared for their new child and Mellodie celebrated her 19th birthday.
He added: ‘We were planning on saving up and getting our own place together.
‘We’d never been on holiday, so this year we were planning on going to Greece, she wanted to go to Greece.
‘We had a whole life planned together. We thought this wouldn’t happen, no-one did. We just planned on doing everything for the first time.
‘I took her away on the 16th for two nights. We were just enjoying the moment.
A screenshot of the GoFundMe set up by the family to raise money to cover Mellodie’s funeral costs
A pictured provided by Mellodie’s family of her as a child flipping through a catalogue at home
The young couple play with filters to show their love for one another in this cute snap
The Royal Bolton Hospital where Mellodie-Ocean Jarman and her baby Athena-Pearl both passed away
‘We’d never stayed over at a hotel, it was our first getaway for baby and for her birthday treat.’
While enjoying their break, the couple spoke of what they would do once baby Athena was brought into the world.
Daniel added: ‘We were both excited to have little Athena, we wanted to give her everything that we could, make her life as good as it could be.
‘Mellodie wanted Athena to start swimming lessons because we went swimming for a little while while we were away. She wanted Athena to start swimming, we both liked to swim.’
Daniel said doctors do not know what caused her death and they are hoping an inquest will provide them with answers.
He added: ‘Doctors have said she was 19, fit and healthy, there were no complications. Even the doctors have no idea what caused it.
‘That’s why there’s the coroner’s report that we’re waiting to try and find out and get some answers ourselves.’
In a statement today, health bosses overseeing The Royal Bolton Hospital, have said an investigation into the double death tragedy has been launched.
Dr Francis Andrews, Medical Director at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Our heartfelt condolences are with the family and friends of Mellodie-Ocean and Athena-Pearl at this incredibly difficult time, and we are doing everything we can to support them.
‘As with any unexpected death we will be carrying out a full and thorough investigation and will keep the family informed as that progresses.’
