Caireann Gildea was just eight-years-old when she died from a ruptured Arteriovenous Malformation in her brain stem in March 2020.
Her parents, Point Cook residents Kathleen and Neal Gildea, said the loss of their daughter came “completely out of the blue”.
“The day before, she had won a 200-metre race at Little Athletics, and then the next day she was struggling to breathe,” Mrs Gildea said.
“Neal told me to immediately call triple-0 and he was advised to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR].”
Ambulance Victoria (AV) paramedics arrived on scene to find Caireann in cardiac arrest, and took over her medical management from Neal.
“It was a complex case, but Caireann was resuscitated on scene and transported to The Royal Children’s Hospital, however she was unable to recover and passed away a couple of days later,” AV team manager Blixa Webster said.
Several tests and brain scans were conducted, and doctors informed Caireann’s parents that their daughter had experienced a rare internal bleed in her brain.
“Where the AVM ruptured affected her heart rate and breathing,” Mrs Gildea said.
“Caireann remained on life support… to give extended family from Ireland and New Zealand time to say their goodbyes in person.”
Her parents opted to donate Caireann’s organs, and both kidneys were donated to a man and woman who had both been on dialysis.
A teenage boy received her liver, and two of her heart valves are also being stored for possible future transplants.
After Caireann’s passing, the Gildea family set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for organisations that helped support them through their tragedy.
The family raised just over $9000 and chose to distribute the funds between AV, Red Nose Australia and their daughter’s primary school.
“Caireann’s school has been so supportive of our family, that we felt we had to give back and thank them, as they are always trying to think of innovative ways that our daughter can be remembered and keep her memory alive,” Mrs Gildea said.
On Thursday, October 13, the Gildea family visited AV Point Cook branch to reunite with the paramedics who treated their daughter and provide them with a $4000 donation, which will go towards training and simulation equipment for the branch and upgrading their paediatric training capabilities.
“The donation is incredibly selfless, coming from a truly wonderful family,” Mr Webster said.
“It is actually the first time a community donation has been made to the Point Cook branch, so it’s a big
part of our almost-14-year history in the area.
“Something like this will be talked about forever.”
Mrs Gildea hopes to keep the memory of her daughter alive.
“We also love talking about her, and remember her everyday; on 26 July Caireann would have turned 11, so as a family, we made pancakes – one of her favourites – and had a birthday cake with pink candles,” she said.
