A mother has told an inquest of her devastation at finding her teenage son dead in bed after he had suffered from a cardiac arrest.
George Edwards, 18, had complained about feeling sick and ‘overwhelmed’ before he was found unresponsive at his home on November 12 2021. Tragically, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was clutching to his teddy when the police and paramedics arrived. His mother Tracy had checked on him in the morning but found him ‘lifeless.’
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An inquest at South Manchester Coroner’s Court, which was overseen by assistant coroner Anna Morris, heard a heartbreaking testimony from George’s mum. In the week leading up to his death, Ms Edwards said that her son had said that he had felt ‘overwhelmed’ and that he had been physically sick, the Manchester Evening News reports.
The day prior to his passing, he informed his mother that he had a headache, a sore throat and that ‘his lungs felt funny.’ Pathologist Dr Vicki Howarth said the evidence suggested George suffered a loss of blood flow to his heart some hours before his death, but there was 'no evidence as to the cause of the initial cardiac event'.
The inquest heard that George had battled with depression for several years and that he suffered from a breakdown when he was 15. Ms Edwards said her son, who had boundless energy, started to struggle when he started high school.
"He was gentle, he wasn't a sportsman, I just think he found it very overwhelming," she told the court. He just started to struggle. He was very clever and very intelligent and he was just over-aware and thought about everything.
"I think that awareness made it really hard for him. He went from being really lively to almost trying to make himself invisible at school."
Ms Edwards said she tried to apply for additional support and would often take her son to the gym and to private councillors. She took him to visit his girlfriend in London after they met online.
She added: "I could see his pain and I just felt like I wasn't doing right by George. I just felt that I needed someone to come and see him, but I was struggling to get anywhere."
George was prescribed antidepressants in July 2019, and, a change was seen, they didn't have the effect George hoped they would. He was prescribed a different drug in January 2021 after medics found out he had stopped taking his original medication.
He continued to struggle with his mental health and had difficulty meeting psychiatrists over the phone - instead of in person - during the pandemic.
Ms Edwards said George 'clearly struggled' during his 18th birthday on November 30, 2021, and didn't open his birthday cards until Boxing Day - nearly a month later.
"He was very vulnerable, she added. "He hadn’t had a normal life. I think it just overwhelmed him that he was 18. He didn’t want the responsibility of being 18."
Tracy told the inquest she had concerns over the medication prescribed and urged for more research to be made into its use on younger people.
"It's a very, very serious medication," she said. "My concerns are that some guidelines state that they don’t prescribe it to someone under-18. Technically, he was an adult, but he was a very vulnerable person who hadn't lived a normal life and was still developing.
"There are question marks over it."
Dr Kate Jennings, of Altrincham Medical Practice, said the medication worked similar to other antidepressants and told the court George wasn't considered to be on a high dose.
"Despite his own mental health issues through his teenage years, one thing that was apparent is how much he supported his friends and other people even though he really wasn't in a good place himself," his mother added.
Tracy said George was very creative from a young age and used to design comic books, having created more than hundreds of pages based on his cat Toki. “He just didn’t stop drawing from the minute he could hold a pen until he got to his teenage years,” Tracy told the court.
Assistant coroner Ms Morris concluded George died of natural causes, recording sudden adult cardiac syndrome as the cause of death, but the trigger unknown.
After the inquest, Tracy told the Manchester Evening News: "George was intelligent, caring and sensitive. He was so creative and imaginative and could have done so many amazing things in his life but we will never know. He was funny and lovely with his friends and everyone's go to person if they were struggling or feeling low."
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