Deceased
Gretchen Heidi Anastasia Van Lunenburg
Demographics
45y, female
Date of death
2023-10-24
Finding date
2024-12-09
Cause of death
COVID pneumonia complicated by severe electrolyte abnormalities
AI-generated summary
A 45-year-old woman with cerebral palsy, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, and blindness died from COVID pneumonia complicated by severe electrolyte abnormalities. She was admitted three times over 3 weeks with progressive electrolyte disturbances (hyperkalaemia, hypernatraemia, metabolic alkalosis) following influenza, then COVID-19 infection. Difficult venous access due to contractures prevented adequate IV access and PICC line insertion, limiting ability to monitor and replace electrolytes. The team appropriately decided against invasive procedures under general anaesthesia given her frailty and complex disability. She transitioned to palliative care when oral intake remained poor despite treatment. The case illustrates challenges in managing electrolyte disturbances in patients with significant physical disabilities limiting vascular access, and appropriate end-of-life decision-making when invasive interventions are not feasible or safe.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
71y · Male·metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma
Robert Bell-Williams, aged 71, died from metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma while in lawful custody at Long Bay Hospital on 1 February 2024. Imprisoned since 2012, he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in 202…
70y · Male·Metastatic melanoma with ischaemic heart disease as a contributing condition
Francis Michael Fahey, a 70-year-old prisoner, died from metastatic melanoma with contributing ischaemic heart disease. He presented with a rapidly enlarging axillary mass in February 2023, confirmed as metastatic melano…
56y · Male·Complications of advanced metastatic sigmoid adenocarcinoma in an adult man with…
Wayne Harris was a 56-year-old Aboriginal man with advanced metastatic sigmoid adenocarcinoma who died in prison custody from complications of his terminal cancer. He was incarcerated for 11 years for child sex offences.…
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —