THE family of a Hoyland teenager who died suddenly from a blood clot has launched a foundation in her memory.

Teenager Shannon Deakin, 16, died in December 2011 after an undiagnosed blood clot spread from her leg to her chest.

She had gone to an out-of-hours surgery at Barnsley Hospital with pain in her leg, and the doctor sent her home with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. She died 12 hours later.

 

Now Shannon's mum and dad Bryan and Sue and her aunty Aileen Bright are fund-raising for the new foundation. They aim to provide doctors' surgeries with handheld scanners to detect blood clots.

Aileen, 61, said: "We have had a lot of enquiries, the most recent from a family down south who lost a daughter aged 17 from a blood clot."Our aim is to give someone else the chance that Shannon never got. And the foundation will keep her memory alive."

The Deakins, of Croft Road, Hoyland, hold a fun day at the Royal Oak pub in Platts Common on June 14. It will get the ball rolling for the £5,000 they need to register the charitable foundation.

The Platts Common fun day starts at 1.30pm. There is a fancy dress competition and an It's a Knockout contest with a prize of the Shannon Deakin cup.

Among donated raffle prizes are football match tickets, day trips, hampers and Morrisons vouchers.