Hannah’s body will be repatriated to Ireland (Image: GoFundMe)
Heartbroken parents are hoping to help others recognise the symptoms of a rare condition after their “best buddy” daughter tragically died from a catastrophic brain bleed.
Hannah Teklic, 9, went to bed as normal on May 6 but woke several hours later complaining of a headache and neck pain at her home in Sydney, Australia. Devastatingly, the young girl passed away just days later.
“She said the pain was really bad and wanted to go to hospital because she thought she was going to die,” her mother Wasima Lamrani told the Daily Mail. Ms Lamrani initially believed the pain may have stemmed from dancing and doing cartwheels several days earlier, and gave her daughter painkillers.
Hannah subsequently began vomiting, fell out of bed and suffered a seizure shortly afterwards. She stopped breathing in the ambulance en route to hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to drain excess fluid and relieve pressure on her brain before being transferred to a children’s hospital.
Two days later, doctors delivered the devastating news to Hannah’s parents that she had been declared brain dead and was unlikely to recover.
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Hannah suffered an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) (Image: GoFundMe)
“There was nothing more they could do,” Hannah’s dad Ivan Teklic said.
“We did not have the heart to turn off her life support on Mother’s Day, so we stayed with her until Monday.
“She was totally fine on Wednesday night. It makes no sense.”
It is understood that Hannah suffered an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — a tangle of blood vessels that creates irregular connections between arteries and veins. Blood flow is disrupted, which prevents tissue from receiving oxygen. AVM affects approximately three in every 10,000 people and typically develops during foetal growth or shortly after birth, according to the Brain Foundation.
‘It literally came out of nowhere,’ Mr Teklic said.
Hannah stopped breathing in the ambulance on the way to hospital where she underwent emergency surgery to remove excess fluid and relieve pressure from her brain (Image: GoFundMe)
Mr Teklic explained that AVM cannot be detected through routine scans, and many sufferers display no symptoms whatsoever until the condition ruptures.
“Doctors told us that there was nothing that we could have done, even if we had called earlier for an ambulance.”
Hannah’s parents are hoping that by sharing her story, they can raise vital awareness of the warning signs. Symptoms can include sudden and severe headache, vomiting, double or blurred vision, seizures, muscle weakness, neck stiffness, lethargy, disorientation and irritability.
The couple have fondly remembered their “best buddy” as a free-spirited young girl who was talented, kind, creative and caring.
“Hannah loved everything and everyone,” Mr Teklic said.
“She wouldn’t hurt a fly or walk on ants. Even when she lost something, she would be sad. Her energy was so huge.”
Her funeral took place on Monday, and her remains will be repatriated to her mother’s homeland of Ireland, where she will be laid to rest beside her great-grandparents.
“She is a bright, beautiful soul who brought so much love, laughter and happiness to her mum, dad and everyone around her,” wrote the organiser of a GoFundMe page set up to support Hannah’s grieving family. “This unimaginable sudden loss has deeply affected her family in Australia, Ireland, Spain and Morocco. It has also impacted Hannah’s friends, classmates, teachers and all who knew and loved her (of which there are so many).”
