A WOMAN from Abergele who died at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd had suffered a “life-ending injury” just weeks before her death, an inquest heard.

Adele Edwards, of Meadow Bank, Llanfair TH, died aged 91 at the Bodelwyddan hospital on June 12, 2024.

At the resumption of the inquest into her death, held in Ruthin on October 4, John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, provided an accidental cause of death.

Mrs Edwards was born in Lodz, Poland on May 12, 1933, and attended schools in both Poland and Germany in her formative years.

She was a retired nurse, who had worked as a midwife in both London and the Hertfordshire area.

A widow, Mrs Edwards had two sons – Dr David Edwards and Alan Edwards.

The inquest heard that in recent years, Mrs Edwards had a heart condition for which she required medication, but remained “very active” and enjoyed long walks until the Covid-19 pandemic.

READ MORE:

Parents highlight meningitis symptoms after baby died at Glan Clwyd

Prestatyn man did not suffer before death at home, inquest hears

She became “isolated” during the pandemic, her son David said, but did join a footpath society as the pandemic eased.

Mrs Edwards soon displayed signs of dementia, and “refused to accept or believe” the problems with her mind and insisted other factors were to blame.

Her symptoms “gradually worsened”, with her driving becoming “noticeably less safe” in 2022, with Mrs Edwards causing a minor accident behind the wheel and relinquishing her licence thereafter.

She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in early 2023, with “mild to moderate” dementia.

By now, she was aware of her memory problems, but was still able to wash and dress herself, shopped occasionally, and could still cook.

In 2024, she began to cancel health visits to her home, and soon moved in with her son Alan, an arrangement which “did not go well”.

She began to complain of being “imprisoned” in her son’s home, and was insistent on being let out to go for walks.

On May 27, Mrs Edwards became “aggressive” and resisted attempts to stop her to leave – she eventually climbed out of a living room window before being escorted home by police.

On May 28, she left again and went missing before being found by police on the evening of May 29.

Mrs Edwards had been found with her legs trapped in a barbed wire fence, with her legs “exposed to the bone”.

She had suffered a “significant amount of blood loss”, and it was believed that she would lose her legs as a result of her injuries.

She was taken to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, where she was largely incoherent and was only occasionally unconscious.

Dr Louise Banks, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, said Mrs Edwards had been “hyperthermic” upon her admission to the ED department.

She was sedated by medical teams and given a tetanus and antibiotics.

Mrs Banks said Mrs Edwards had been “extremely unwell” with an acute kidney injury, with medical staff believing a wash out of her tibia could be life-threatening – she was not aesthetically fit enough for an amputation below the knee.

She was in palliative care for a week due to her “life-ending injury”, and died in the early hours of June 12.

A medical cause of death was given as sepsis, secondary to a right lower leg degloving wound due to a traumatic fall, caused by Alzheimer’s and old age.

In conclusion, Mr Gittins told her son David: “My condolences to your family on the loss of this lady in difficult circumstances.

“You have my admiration and sympathy in equal measure in relation to the challenges the family faced - you could not have done any more for her.”

Mrs Edwards’ son David wished to thank rescue teams and palliative care staff, saying emergency services “went beyond the call of duty” in their treatment of his mother.