Eloise Parry was able to drive herself to the hospital around noontime on April 12 because she was feeling unwell. She told the doctors she had taken some diet pills, and toxicology tests were immediately run. At the time, there was no panic and Ms Parry was lucid and talking, says her mother, Fiona Parry.
All that changed when the toxicology report came back, revealing just how bad the situation really was. “The drug was in her system, there was no antidote, two tablets was a lethal dose and she had taken eight,” Fiona Parry said in a tribute posted online. “As Eloise deteriorated, the staff in A&E did all they could to stabilize her.”
The diet pills contained a highly toxic chemical called dinitrophenol, also known as DNP. Ms Parry had bought them online for about $200. According to sources online, DNP can cause a rapid loss of weight, but has significant adverse effects, including hyperthermia, tachycardia, diaphoresis, and tachypnoea, eventually leading to death.
On April 12, an inquest was ordered by Shropshire coroner John Ellery after a hearing in Shrewsbury and adjourned until July 2, 2015.
“As the drug kicked in and started to make her metabolism soar, they attempted to cool her down, but they were fighting an uphill battle. She was literally burning up from within. When she stopped breathing, they put her on a ventilator and carried on fighting to save her,” said Fiona’s mother.
“When her heart stopped they couldn’t revive her. She had crashed. She had taken so much DNP that the consequences were inevitable. They never stood a chance of saving her. She burned and crashed.” Fiona Parry died on April 12, 2015.
Police are also investigating the death and warning people about buying diet pills online. Chief inspector Jennifer Mattinson told the Guardian, “We urge the public to be incredibly careful when purchasing medicine or supplements over the Internet. Substances from unregistered websites could put your health at risk as they could be extremely harmful, out of date, or fake.”
Many people might wonder at Mrs. Parry being so forthright in talking about Fiona’s death, but as Mrs. Parry said, her daughter never meant to take her own life. She didn’t really understand the dangers involved in taking something so easily bought over the Internet. I believe Mrs. Parry wants her daughter’s death to have some meaning. The dangers of indiscriminately taking diet pills, and the consequences some ultimately pay is a deadly warning.
