Bubbly, caring and loved woman died sad death

(A slightly edited version of this was published in the 'Ulster Herald' October 27th 2016)

The Coroner has told an inquest into a Fintona woman’s death that it was sad a woman with such a loving family died as she did. Sixty-two year old Betty Quinn was found dead in her home at McCaughey Terrace on December 8th last year.

A family member told the inquest in Enniskillen that Ms Quinn had been in the South West Hospital for 10 days less than a month before she died. Coroner Joseph McCrisken said this was outside the scope of the inquest, and the family could pursue it elsewhere if they wished.

Coroner Joseph McCrisken found Ms Quinn died of complications from diabetes and from coronary heart disease. Bleeding from wounds to the scalp were a secondary cause. Police had initially been called to the scene, because of bloodstains throughout the house. However, they decisively ruled out foul play.

Forensic pathologist Dr Parsons said the complications of diabetes led to “incidents of confusion, dizziness, and could act as a cause of this lady falling.” He also found severe narrowing of one artery leading to the heart.

Next door neighbour Joanne Gordon found Ms Quinn on December 8th last year. She was concerned the lights were on in the house, but there was no response to knocks. Unusually, the television was not on. Ms Quinn normally went to a club on Tuesdays. “When she didn’t go, we knew something was wrong,” she said.

When she went in, she found the house flooded. Ms Quinn had turned the taps in the bathroom on, but was unable to turn them off. She was lying dead on the settee, in her dressing gown.

GP Dr Maighread McKelvey gave evidence of visiting Ms Quinn at home some time before her death. She had wanted to admit Ms Quinn to hospital but “she didn’t want to go to hospital.”

Ms Quinn’s sister Philomena said she had gone downhill after her partner was admitted to a care home. Ms Quinn had been “very outgoing, very bubbly, very caring, she looked after our own mother.”

However, she increasingly suffered depression, vertigo, and an eating disorder as well as insulin-dependent diabetes. Ms Gordon said Ms Quinn was obsessed with her weight. “There was a pair of navy trousers, and because she couldn’t get into them she lived on cups of soup for four weeks,” Ms Gordon said. This led to Ms Quinn being hospitalised for malnutrition, less than a month before her death.

The Coroner said he could not ascertain the trigger for Ms Quinn’s confusion, but it was a combination of poor control of diabetes and an infection. Due to her heart condition, she could have died at any time. “It’s a terrible situation for a woman that had such a loving family,” he said.