Tragedy as 14-month-old baby girl Mia Macphee dies after getting tangled in straps of rucksack
A 14-month-old girl died after she became tangled in the straps of a bag hanging from a door, her parents have revealed.
Mia Macphee, from Alness, north Scotland, died in the tragic accident last month, and her parents have issued a warning to others about the dangers of hanging things from doors with children around.
Her parents Connor and Hannah were only away for a few minutes when their daughter, who was usually loud, went quiet.
Connor went to look and found Mia tangled in a small handbag-style rucksack with thin straps that was hanging from the door.
As he untangled her, Connor screamed for his partner, who took Mia to the kitchen floor and performed CPR, while the father rang for an ambulance to Raigmore Hospital.
Baby Mia had been without oxygen, and it took 30 to 45 minutes for her heart to start beating again.
The one-year-old was transferred to hospital in Edinburgh, where her family spent almost four days with her before she passed away.
Ms Macphee told the Press and Journal: ‘Connor and I lay in bed with her. I had my hand on her chest and could feel her slipping away. Her heart stopped beating.
‘We fell asleep with her between us. That was the last proper time we had with our little girl.’
She added: ‘Mia was bubbly, sassy, and every inch a daddy’s girl. We could never have foreseen losing her. We thought we had years.
‘We’re paying tribute to her because she was amazing – but also so this doesn’t happen to any other family.
‘We can’t stress this enough to anyone reading this: we didn’t even give a bag hanging on a door a second thought. But everyday things like that need to be thought about.’