A DAD-OF-FIVE died after mistakenly pouring washing detergent on a bowl of cornflakes instead of milk, an inquest has heard. Tom McDonald was rushed to St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) in Dublin on March 9, 2023, after his daughter realised he had accidentally poisoned himself. 2 Tom McDonald died after accidentally pouring washing detergent on his cornflakes instead of milk Credit: collinsphotos.
com 2 Aisling O'Grady and her brother Derek McDonald pictured leaving the Dublin District Coroner's Court Credit: collinsphotos.com "It was so quick - he was perfectly well and then all of a sudden he is gone," his other daughter, Aisling O'Grady, said at a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday, according to the Irish Examiner . Tom's daughter, Ailbhe McDonald, had been living with her dad for the previous 19 months after her mum, Viola, had moved to live in a nursing home , her written statement said.
The 92-year-old from Dublin, Ireland, had been diagnosed with dementia five years earlier and the condition had got noticeably worse in the five months before his death. Ailbhe said her father would get confused over whether it was day or night and would often get up at strange times for food . She claimed to have heard him making cornflakes in the kitchen at around 3:30am on the night of the fatal incident.
After 20 minutes had passed and she had not heard him return to bed Ailbhe went downstairs to check on him. When she found him, Tom mentioned feeling un.