DOUBLE THE PAIN - Mother loses two daughters in two years

Losing a second child in two years was a possibility that stared Nadine Evans in the eyes after her 19-year-old daughter's condition began to deteriorate, but it was one she was not prepared to contemplate.

Evans' first daughter, Carell White, passed away at The University Hospital of the West Indies on December 19, 2017. And on Sunday, Shyan Taylor, her other daughter, died at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).

The teenager became ill after a dental procedure and was later diagnosed with lupus. But like the case with her elder sister two years ago, Evans feels there is more to the story.

Shyan died two days after she was taken off a ventilator after spending weeks in the Intensive Care Unit.

"My baby fought very hard for her life. She fought so hard that she came around and came off the ventilator and started eating. She even got a book and began to write down stuff that she couldn't remember such as the time she got her medication and so on. She told me that she was going on a ward soon and after that she will be able to go home, but my daughter will never return home," she said.

Condition quickly deteriorated

Evans said Shyan's condition quickly deteriorated between Friday night and Saturday morning as by then, the hopeful teenager was struggling to breathe.

"She removed the oxygen mask and she say 'Mommy take me out, I am going to die'. A doctor then told me that my daughter had another lupus attack and it was affecting her kidneys, and if she survives the attack, she will be placed on dialysis," the broken mother related.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means that the immune system targets the body's own tissues and attacks them. While the disease, which sometimes appears to run in families, can be managed, there is no cure.

Evans stated that on Saturday night, the thought of Shyan dying crossed her mind, especially after the doctor had told her earlier that her condition had deteriorated drastically over a 24-hour period.

Prior to her illness, Taylor was employed at a cafe but had dreams of becoming a veterinarian.

Two years ago, Evans' eldest child, White, 31, reportedly told her mother that medical personnel took out her kidneys and replaced them with defective ones.

Evans wanted an independent pathologist to observe the hospital's autopsy, but was denied. As a result, the mother was forced to take the hospital to the Supreme Court, through the assistance of Jamaicans for Justice.

She was successful in her legal battle against the medical institution. The autopsy report determined that White passed away from lupus and renal failure.