Lincoln woman's agony over exhumation of daughter's body
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-32922567 Version 0 of 1. A woman has spoken of her grief at seeing her daughter's body exhumed after post-mortem examination errors. New tests were ordered more than a year after Gemma Wilks died because a report said she had a "normal" gallbladder, an organ she had actually had removed. The 23-year-old's mother Carrie Wilks, from Lincoln, spoke after an inquest into her death on Thursday. New tests showed Gemma's death, in July 2013, related to a therapeutic drugs overdose, the Lincoln inquest heard. Coroner Stuart Fisher had ordered the exhumation, in September last year, after errors with initial post-mortem tests indicated Gemma's cause of death was heart disease. 'Really eerie' Speaking about the exhumation, Ms Wilks said: "It was horrible - her coffin had collapsed so they had to move her into a body bag. "It was just really eerie - even though the staff were lovely - it wasn't something any mum should have to go through." Gemma's body was only exhumed after her mother questioned some of the details of the initial post-mortem report. Ms Wilks said the family's grief had been made worse because they believed Gemma had "had a massive heart attack". She said they were told "Gemma's heart was like that of a 60 year old," adding it was "really distressing to think she died on her own in agony". Gemma had previously been diagnosed with chronic pain syndrome and a personality disorder, her mother said. Agreeing with the findings of the second post-mortem examination, Mr Fisher said that in 20 years as a coroner, it was the only exhumation he had ever ordered. He said it had been necessary in order to establish the facts. |