Mystery as ‘healthy’ 17-month-old dies unexpectedly with no symptoms
Willow Poppy Forrest's cause of death was ruled as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI)
A couple has been left without “answers” after their 17-month-old daughter died unexpectedly with no prior symptoms.
Ella McNally, 23, and Josh Forrest, 24, from Nottingham, welcomed their “beautiful daughter” Willow Poppy Forrest on June 4, 2023.
On November 11 2024, Ella said she put Willow to bed as normal and checked the baby monitor throughout the night but when she called her name in the morning to wake her up, she did not respond.
After calling an ambulance and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Willow was then blue-lighted to hospital, where it was confirmed she had died, aged 17 months old.
A post-mortem examination and further testing rules Willow’s cause of death as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI).
SUDC UK says Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) is the sudden and unexpected death of a child, between one and 18 years of age, which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation is conducted.
About 40 children in the UK are affected by SUDC each year, and the charity says no one can predict or prevent these deaths, neither parents nor medical professionals, at this time.
If a child is under 24 months, some guidelines use the term Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) instead of SUDC, and therefore, this may be listed as the cause of death.
Now, in Willow’s memory, the couple are preparing to take on the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April to raise awareness and funds for the charity SUDC UK.
“We were waiting and hoping we’d get answers,” Ella said.
“But even now, it has been nearly 15 months since she passed away, so she’s almost been gone as long as we had her, and the questions still nag because there aren’t any answers.
“I’m doing (the marathon) for Willow, and for any other family who has experienced this, and I know she’ll be with me all the way.”
Ella said Willow was born on June 4 2023, with “no complications” and she had no health issues, other than one case of hand, foot and mouth disease, which is a common childhood illness.
Describing Willow, Ella said: “She was bubbly, clever and really cheeky. She had everyone wrapped around her finger.”
On November 11 2024, Willow spent the day with Ella’s parents while she was on placement for her nursing degree and Josh was away for work, and they noticed she had a higher temperature.
However, by the evening, Willow’s temperature had returned to normal after taking the medicine Calpol.
“She had a bath and she was splashing around and singing nursery rhymes, so she seemed totally fine,” Ella explained.
Ella and her sister brought Willow home, read her bedtime stories and gave her a bottle of milk before putting her to bed.
Ella kissed her goodnight, said “I love you” and put on some calming white noise with her Tonie device, checking the baby monitor several times throughout the night.
In the morning, Ella checked the baby monitor again and said, from the angle of the monitor, it just looked like Willow was asleep and “nothing was out of the ordinary”.
However, when she went to wake Willow up, she said her name a few times and she did not respond.
“I thought she was just messing about at first,” Ella said.
“I didn’t think anything of it because I was just stood at her door, but by the fourth time I’d said it and she didn’t respond, I rushed to get her.”
With Willow “unresponsive”, Ella rushed her downstairs and said she “screamed at (her) sister to ring the ambulance” before performing CPR.
Willow was then blue-lighted to King’s Mill Hospital and Ella was transported in a police vehicle, and Ella had to call Josh to explain what was happening.
Not long after their arrival, Ella said she was called into a room by medical professionals and told Willow had died that morning.
“I feel like my heart just dropped when Willow wasn’t replying because it was very unusual,” Ella explained.
“I couldn’t really believe it. It was just a normal morning and she was fine the night before.
“With my healthcare background, I knew that there wasn’t anything more we could do, but I didn’t want to accept that. It’s just surreal.”
Ella and Josh were able to see Willow to say their goodbyes in the hospital, and they were given a 4Louis memory box, which offers a way for bereaved families to store meaningful keepsakes and mementoes.
In the following days, the couple and family members visited Willow while she was in the mortuary for around an hour each day, and they read her books, including one of her favourites, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.
Her funeral was held in December 2024, when she was buried with her favourite elephant blanket that she called “her baby”, a pink bunny toy and her Crocs, among other cherished possessions.
“It was just a blur, the whole day was surreal,” Ella said.
“Seeing how many people were there to say their goodbyes, that’s what set me off and it hit me – this is real.”
Ella said she and Josh underwent genetic testing afterwards to see if that would provide any answers, but the results came back as normal.
Months after her death, the couple received a coronial post-mortem report, which ruled Willow’s cause of death as SUDI, and they said “nothing was flagged” other than her being a “healthy, happy child”.
“I don’t think anything’s ever going to be answered or eased, and to be honest, most of the time it doesn’t actually feel like it’s happened,” Ella said.
“It just feels like the time we had with her is like a fever dream.
“You can try going back to normal, but I feel like with grief, it sneaks up on you when you least expect it.”
Ella explained that she and Josh have not moved or rearranged Willow’s possessions in their home, even leaving her snacks in the cupboard and her water bottle in the fridge, as they want to “memorialise it”.
Ella said she returned to university to finish her degree, as she knew Willow would not want her to “wallow at home”, and she graduated in September 2025 and was nominated for the most inspirational student award.
The couple know they have to “keep going” and has found comfort “leaning” on each other and family members, and they want to speak out to help other families affected by SUDI or SUDC.
Now, they are preparing for the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise more awareness and funds for the charity SUDC UK, with a current target of £3,000, and Ella said it will be an “emotional” day.
“We had never heard of SUDC until it happened to us… but we just want every child to be remembered and for the message to be put across,” Ella said.
“We will never stop talking about Willow.”
Pascale Harvie, president and general manager at JustGiving, said: “Ella’s decision to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon is a deeply moving tribute to Willow’s memory.
“By championing the work of SUDC UK, she is turning her personal grief into a lifeline for other families.
“Everyone at JustGiving is in awe of her strength and resilience, and we’ll be cheering her on every step of the way.”
To donate or find out more, visit the JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/page/ella-mcnally-1.
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