Alice Kilvert, aged 15, died on Tuesday, 26th November 1991 of tampon-related Toxic Shock Syndrome at Trafford General Hospital, Manchester.
Alice's symptoms were initially very mild and did not cause any undue concern. On the Sunday prior to her death she complained of a headache which persisted, but eased with aspirin. During Sunday evening she was able to watch television, but she was sick during the night. Although very pale on Monday morning, she went to school in order to start her mock GCSE exams, but was taken home as she appeared to be developing influenza.. Alice went sraight to bed and by tea time she had a slight temperature. At 7pm she was alert enough to talk about the early evening TV she had missed, but by 10pm she seemed vague and confused and a little faint.
The next morning Alice's breathing was shallow and she had a higher temperature, so the emergency doctor was called. The doctor phoned for an ambulance for Alice to be taken to hospital, but when the ambulance staff tested for blood pressure, it was so low it hardly registered. She arrived at hospital at 9am and her condition was diagnosed as either TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME or meningitis, and treatment began. She was taken into Intensive Care and put onto a ventilator as her breathing was giving cause for concern. However, the strain on her heart brought on two cardiac arrests. She did not recover from the second one and died at 1pm.