A ‘wonderful daughter’ whose life was ruined by drugs died after collapsing in a York public toilet.
Kaydie Brolly, 31, was found unresponsive in the toilets at Exhibition Square on 17 September, an inquest was told today (Tuesday).
She was given emergency CPR by York Street Rangers and then taken to York Hospital, where she died on 21 September.
Hospital pathologist Dr Craig Bratten carried out a post mortem examination on Kaydie.
Blood analysis revealed fatal levels of both heroin and pregabalin, an anti-convulsant medicine used to treat opioid withdrawal and anxiety disorder, among other conditions.
The effect of the drugs stopped her breathing, said Jonathan Leach, assistant North Yorkshire coroner at the inquest in Northallerton.
Her GP, Dr Vanessa Barrett, of the Jorvik Gillygate Practice, said Kaydie had had an opioid dependence since 2009, with numerous overdoses throughout 2020.
In a statement, her stepfather Gavin Lansell said Kaydie was about 19 when she first started to use heroin. As a result of that, her children were taken into care.
Both he and her mother Amanda tried to support her but it was difficult. She would often sofa surf between different houses.
She had short periods of being clean, but unfortunately wasn’t able to stay away from drugs for long.
In recent years she was supported by Changing Lives on Union Terrace and the Peasholme Centre on Fishergate.
Shortly before her death, she was living at the Peasholme Centre but was asked to leave, and moved into her boyfriend’s house in Wenlock Terrace.
On the afternoon of 17 September, Kaydie collapsed in the toilets at Exhibition Square. Two street rangers found her unresponsive with a lot of drug paraphernalia around her.
They got the defibrillator from York Art Gallery and administered CPR then an ambulance arrived and she was taken to York Hospital.
Police called on her mother and stepdad to say she was very ill in York Hospital.
“If I’m honest, we had always dreaded this knock on the door, but it’s something we’ve always half expected because of her drug use,” Mr Lansell said in his statement.
In hospital she suffered a cardiac arrest and severe brain damage and never recovered. After consultation with her family, her life support was switched off and she was certified dead at about 5am on 21 September.
Her kidneys were donated for transplant.
“She was a wonderful daughter, and it breaks our heart that her life was ruined by drugs,” Mr Lansell said.
“When she wasn’t on drugs, she cared about herself and would help anybody. When Kaydie was on drugs, she didn’t care.”
Mr Leach said this was “a story I hear on a regular basis”.
Dawn Murphy, a liaison nurse practitioner with Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust, said that Kaydie had previously been referred to the York psychiatric liaison team.
They believed it was an impulsive overdose taken whilst under the influence of alcohol. She had denied any suicidal thoughts.
Police did not consider that her death was suspicious.
In his conclusion, Mr Leach said it was a drug-related death. He offered his condolences to her family.
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