“He Told Me He Couldn’t Breathe”: Devastated Braintree Family Mourn Sudden Death of 11-Year-Old Boy
Braintree has been left heartbroken after the sudden and unexpected death of 11-year-old Frankie-Rae Law, who collapsed and died just hours after being reassured that his sore throat was “just a virus.”
On Friday 14th November, Frankie-Rae told his mum, Keleigh Law, that his throat hurt. She immediately took him to their local GP, who examined him and said it appeared to be a common viral infection.
But only hours later, everything changed.
Frankie-Rae walked into the living room, gasping for air, terrified, telling his mum he couldn’t breathe. Within minutes, he went silent and collapsed.
Keleigh followed him to the bathroom and found him slumped over, lips grey, eyes glazed, completely unresponsive.
Despite frantic CPR efforts by family, paramedics, police, and hospital staff, Frankie-Rae tragically passed away at 3:30am on Saturday morning.
The cause of his sudden death is still unknown.
Paramedics worked on him for over 30 minutes before rushing him to Broomfield Hospital. A specialist hearts team also attended, but they told Keleigh his chances were slim.
He briefly regained colour and opened his eyes for a moment but then deteriorated again.
Doctors later ran an MRI and told Keleigh there was no heart rhythm, no activity, and nothing more they could do. She stayed by his side, holding his hand, as they turned off the ventilator.
His passing has devastated the entire community.
Keleigh describes her son as “a lovable child whose smile lit up a room,” and says she has been flooded with messages from people she didn’t even know he’d touched.
At this time, doctors still do not know what caused Frankie-Rae’s sudden collapse.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with funeral costs.
Sudden, unexplained childhood deaths like this are extremely rare, but they shake a community deeply.
Parents are encouraged to trust their instincts, if your child’s condition worsens, becomes unusual, or deteriorates suddenly, always seek immediate emergency help.
More updates will be provided when the medical investigation reveals the cause.
This tragedy has left many parents feeling shaken and unsure.
So we want to open the discussion, sensitively and respectfully, to support families across Braintree.
👉 How can we better support parents when medical concerns escalate?
👉 Should GP services change how they assess children with sudden symptoms?
👉 What can we do as a community to help this family right now?
Share your thoughts and messages of support below 💙(Please keep comments respectful.)
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