Dying mother scrawled: "I love you all"

Sarah Wheeler, 24, of Harkness Drive, Hastings, did not receive an MRI scan for two of those days because there were no staff at the Conquest Hospital available.

As her condition detriorated in front of her husband's eyes Miss Wheeler penned a final loving note before lapsing into a coma.

It read simply: "I love you all."

An inquest heard how experts spent a week struggling to diagnose Miss Wheeler's condition but they agreed yesterday (fri) that even with the scan she would not have survived.

"Her die had already been cast," coroner Alan Craze said.

Mrs Wheeler died in September 2005, leaving behind her husband Jason and her daughter Rebecca, now seven, who herself has a heart condition.

Mr Wheeler said he had asked for a neurologist to make a diagnosis but none was given.

Doctors did not realise her death was due to a blood clot on the brain brought on by a diabetic condition until a post-mortem was performed.

Ian Hawley, consultant histopathologist, told Hastings Magistrates Court the chances of such a complication were two to 70 cases per million.

Mrs Wheeler, who was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic as a child, was taken to the Conquest suffering shortness of breath and headaches on September 7, 2005.

Doctors diagnosed her as suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis and administered insulin, planning to rehydrate her over 48 hours. But after two days Mr Wheeler, choking back tears as he gave his evidence yesterday, (fri) said: "I have never seen such a quick change. One of her eyes was facing inwards and the other was pointing straight out. She wasn't able to speak and her only way of communicating was through writing.

"The last thing she wrote that night was: 'I love you all'."

As Mrs Wheeler's condition became critical, she was given two CT scans and placed in intensive care as doctors tried to discover the cause of her deterioration.

She had to wait two days for an MRI scan because it is not staffed at weekends.

Seven consultants appeared on behalf of the hospital yesterday. Dr Nick McNeillis, director of critical care, said he had even consulted colleagues at Kings College London because: "I was at a diagnostic loss."

When an MRI scan was finally performed on Monday, September 12 Mrs Wheeler was comatose, the inquest heard.

The scan confirmed irreversible brain damage but was unable to diagnose the thrombosis caused by a blood clot. She died two days later.

Neurologist Dr Muhammad Chowdhury said he only knew of three such cases that had been recorded.

He said: "If asked if I could have been consulted then the answer would always have been yes. There are logistic problems because we only have one MRI scanner."

But even then he would have suspected infection such as meningitis as the cause of her condition, he added.

This was the second inquest into Mrs Wheeler's death. Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of natural causes but said her death was a tragedy.

Mr Wheeler, 34, said afterwards: "I still find it very hard to accept that my 24-year-old wife was admitted to hospital with a treatable condition and died seven days later without anyone making a diagnosis.

"I could see she was deteriorating from the first day but no one seemed to know why. I still feel that something should have been done."

A spokesman for East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Despite the best efforts and endeavours of all the clinical staff involved in Mrs Wheeler's care they were not able to diagnose her extremely rare condition."