Young woman described as the 'life and soul of every party' died aged 28 after failing to manage her diabetes

  • Shayni Kirk was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 19 but neglected treatment
  • Miss Kirk suffered with severe chest pains on January 28 and died two days later
  • The 28-year-old was found dead in her flat in Macclesfield, Cheshire, by mother
  • Tests showed Miss Kirk died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a diabetes complication

By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A young woman described as the 'life and soul of every party' died of a rare medical condition aged just 28 after she failed to manage her diabetes.

Care assistant Shayni Kirk was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 19 but she neglected her insulin treatment and frequently failed to attend GP appointments. 

Miss Kirk, from Macclesfield in Cheshire, began suffering with severe chest pains on January 28 and was found dead by her mother two days later beside her pet dogs.

Tests showed Miss Kirk died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes.

Shayni Kirk
Miss Kirk, from Macclesfield in Cheshire, began suffering with severe chest pains on January 28 and was found dead by her mother two days later beside her pet dogs

Shayni  Kirk (pictured left and right) began suffering with severe chest pains on January 28 and was found dead by her mother two days later beside her pet dogs

Miss Kirk's mother Rosemary Slade told the hearing: 'Her dad had to call an ambulance because she was complaining of chest pains.

'She told me that her heart had been beating fast and that this time felt different to that other times she had chest pains.

'Her dad Alan stayed with her until the Saturday and we had arranged to meet up on the Saturday night.

'On that day I rang her six or seven times and I text her but had no answer. This was not unusual because she would often shut herself away when she felt ill.

'When I let myself into the flat with my key on the Sunday, everything seemed fine. There was no sign of her so I went into to the bedroom and that's where I found her. 

'The dogs were next to Shayni, I could not get them to leave her.'

Miss Kirk is pictured alongside her mother Rosemary Slade, who found her dead inside her flat

Miss Kirk is pictured alongside her mother Rosemary Slade, who found her dead inside her flat

The hearing in Macclesfield was told how Miss Kirk had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2008 and had been offered help from a number of health services.

But her GP Dr Elizabeth Eales told the court: 'She was poorly complying with her treatment for her diabetes and she had poor diabetes control. 

What is diabetic ketoacidosis?

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious complication of diabetes that occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones.

DKA was first described in 1886 and, until the introduction of insulin therapy in the 1920s, it was almost universally fatal.

Today the risk of death with adequate and timely treatment is currently around one to four per cent.

Symptoms of a DKA episode include nausea and vomiting, pronounced thirst, excessive urine production and abdominal pain.

According to figures just four per cent of people with type 1 diabetes develop DKA each year.

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'She frequently did not take insulin and had multiple "did not attends" for her diabetes appointments. 

'She failed to attend three diabetes clinic appointments in November and December and my last face-to-face consultation with her was in November of last year.'

Consultant pathologist Sally Ann Hales conducted a post-mortem and toxicology test.

She Hales said: 'Inside the body there were signs of diabetes. She had a large liver which was fatty in appearance which would be related to heart failure.

'There was evidence of fibrosis within the heart. There was a small stroke in the brain and the liver changes are consistent with heart failure.

Recording a verdict of drug-related death, coroner Heath Westerman said she accepted medical cause of death is diabetic ketoacidosis and myocardial fibrosis.

The hearing in Macclesfield was told how Miss Kirk had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2008 and had been offered help from a number of health services

The hearing in Macclesfield was told how Miss Kirk had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2008 and had been offered help from a number of health services

Diabetes

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