A TORMENTED mum has described being in a "hellstorm of grief" after her four-year-old daughter accidentally hanged herself in a tree.
Little Freya Thorpe was playing with a friend when her unicorn bike helmet got tangled in a tree in Upper Heyford, Oxon.
The youngster was rushed to hospital but tragically died two days later.
Her heartbroken mum Elise Thorpe has opened up about the "terrible pain and flashbacks" she suffers following Freya's death in September 2019.
Writing alongside a photo of her beaming daughter on Facebook, she said: “I am a broken individual, caught in a hellstorm of grief.
“We live every day and night in hell, torture, sheer shock and grief that cant be comprehended.”
TRAGIC ACCIDENT
Elise revealed how her and partner Chris were on "cloud nine" having just welcomed twins ten days before the tragic accident.
She explained Freya had been playing at a friend's house just seconds away from their own home when Elise suddenly had a "gut feeling".
The mum began "panicking" when she saw an ambulance at the end of the road and phoned Chris, who said he would pick Freya up so she could stay home with the twins.
But when his car didn't return, Elise realised something was horribly wrong.
Moments later, the devastated dad arrived home and told her: “Freya’s hung herself in a tree.”
An inquest last year heard how she was suspended from the branch and the helmet strap became "tight against her throat".
Elise said: “Imagine being in your home so happy and on top of the world one minute and then in space of a second; never to return home again to a house.”
'LIFE SENTENCE OF HELL'
She detailed the agonising hours spent in hospital as medics battled to save the little girl.
Sadly she could no longer fight and died two days later in intensive care at John Radcliffe Hospital.
Elise said: “I have never been more suicidal in my life. I wake up to the same daily routine, I’m frightened to sleep for nightmares, frightened to wake to the terrible pain and flashbacks.
"We are under a life sentence of hell.
"They say people’s mental health has spiralled during Covid. As a social worker I'm used to managing various complex issues; but this has floored me, having to endure the long Covid isolation in raw pain.
"The long boring days make it more evident than ever how much I miss and can’t bare my little girl being gone. I struggle to watch her brother and sister grow, I see traits of Freya in them, characteristics and looks and all without Freya by their side. We are incomplete.
"Every milestone, birthday, Christmas.. wondering how she would have looked and what she would have become is torture.
“Every member of the family is in pieces, no more than Chris and I who witnessed the carnage of our beautiful little girl on the floor in such a critical state.”
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
SICK TROLLS
The family were too haunted by Freya's death to ever return home.
Elise said: "Had I not given birth only 10 days before we would have taken our lives in the hospital that night, without a shadow of a doubt.”
To add to the family's torture, Elise revealed how her and Chris have been targeted by heartless trolls questioning their parenting.
She said the "quiet cul-de-sac" where they lived is full of parents who "confidently let their children out to play".
But on that fateful day, Freya had left her friend's house without her mum knowing when she became caught in the branch.
The tree has since been cut down and destroyed.
Elise wrote: “We have… experienced scrutiny and abuse from people who asked ‘Where were the parents? How could they let her out alone!?’
“It has caused family rifts from relatives and judgement all because people didn’t know Freya wasn’t in our care when this happened.
“We gave Freya love and a life us as children could have only dreamt of – she was and still is, our world.
“We have not been able to do that to our full potential for the twins as of yet because we aren’t strong enough.
“I wonder if we ever can as we’re destroyed; but for the twins' sake we will one day hopefully find a way.”
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
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