A Welsh family is mourning the loss of a young runner who died after doctors perplexingly diagnosed her symptoms as allergies.
Throughout the summer, 24-year-old Georgia Taylor reported symptoms like rashes, swelling and a mysterious pain in her leg. Shortly after returning home from a trip to Greece, she rapidly deteriorated and was admitted to the hospital.
Taylor, who had no known medical conditions and was healthy enough to run the London Marathon in April, died surrounded by loved ones on Aug. 21.
“After it happened, we just couldn’t believe it was real, it was awful. Every morning we wake up and think, ‘how has this happened?’” her parents, Nicola and John, said in a statement to reporters.
In June, Taylor noticed rashes on some of her fingers but assumed it was a reaction to the rings she was wearing.
A few weeks later, her face began to swell, her eyes were puffy, and another rash appeared on her arm.
Taylor visited her family doctor in July, where her symptoms were dismissed as an allergic reaction. She was sent home with antihistamines and hydrocortisone.
These treatments proved ineffective, and just a few days later, Taylor went to the emergency room complaining of shortness of breath. However, her tests were clear, and she was sent home with more antihistamines.
In early August, during what should have been a relaxing family trip to Zante, Greece, Taylor complained of a “niggling pain” in her right calf while taking a walk.
The following day, although her facial swelling had subsided, Taylor could “hardly walk,” according to her mother.
While abroad, a pharmacist prescribed painkillers and ibuprofen to help manage the pain, a combination that seemed to help.
However, after she returned home and set off on a trip with friends, her leg pain worsened to the point of “agony,” and she made an appointment to see a doctor.
According to her family, Taylor went to her appointment around 6 p.m. on Aug. 20, and then sent a message to her mother saying she needed to go to the hospital.
She was rushed by an ambulance to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales, where she died the following day.
“We got in there and it all happened really quickly,” Nicola said.
Taylor was described by her family as a “magnetic person,” with an incredible sense of humor, who always had “the loudest laugh in the room.”
More than 900 people attended her funeral on Sept. 25.
Ahead of her memorial service, Taylor’s family requested donations be made to the charity 2wish, which provides support for families following the unexpected death of a person 25 years old or younger.
Taylor’s cause of death has not been announced.
