Staff at a Dublin sports complex were unable to use a defibrillator in their effort to revive a nine-year-old girl who had suffered a cardiac episode because the machine’s battery was running low, an inquest has heard.
Michaela-Clare Gonda lost consciousness in the water while learning to swim at Tallaght Community School Sports Complex in Balrothery on May 12th, 2017.
Dublin Coroner’s Court heard that Michaela-Clare was born with the congenital heart condition called Tetraology of Fallot and underwent a corrective procedure when she was four-months-old. She had further surgery in 2015 and it was noted that her heart function was not perfect but she was doing well.
Her parents Michael and Yvonne Gonda, who relocated to Tallaght from the Philippines in 2000, were chatting on a bench beside the pool as Michaela-Clare prepared for her third swimming class.
“Michaela kept coming up to us saying, ‘I know how to swim now’,” Mr Gonda said.
He said a minute or so passed when he noticed Michaela had not been back to talk to them.
“I saw her underwater. I jumped straight in,” he added.
Compressions
Michaela was taken from the water and staff began chest compressions. A defibrillator was retrieved but could not be used because the battery was low, the court heard. Emergency services were called at 7.12pm and arrived at 7.19pm.
Responding to questions about directions, Dublin Fire Brigade station officer Dominic Taaffe told the coroner that the Eircode system was of no use to fire brigade staff unless they used their personal mobile phones.
The complex’s general manager Padraig Kenny said new visitors regularly confuse the Tallaght Community Schools Sports Complex with Tallaght Leisure Centre but the two are separate complexes.
Michaela was taken to Crumlin Children’s Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 8pm. A postmortem found substantial damage to her heart muscle.
“Michaela did not drown, something happened to her heart in the water that caused her to lose consciousness,” Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.
The cause of death was dis-rhythmic death secondary to pronounced myocardial pathology in a nine-year-old with a history of Tetralogy of Fallot.
Returning a narrative verdict, Dr Cullinane recommended that facilities with defibrillators have a system of ensuring the equipment is functioning. The defibrillator at the complex is being checked daily since Michaela’s death, the inquest heard.
“Michaela had done so well and come through so much, it must be devastating for you to have lost her,” Dr Cullinane said to the family.
Speaking after the inquest, Mr Gonda paid tribute to his “lovely, sporty” girl.
“We just miss Michaela so much, she was a really lovely girl, she loved singing and she loved her swim classes,” he said.