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Aliyah Yugovich should have celebrated her fifth birthday on Sunday.
Instead, her parents Jessica and Josh Yugovich are still trying to comprehend life without their little girl.
The three-year-old died unexpectedly in July 2024 after contracting the flu following a routine surgery.
Aliyah had her tonsils taken out with no complications, but became unwell at home a few days later.
Her parents took her to Perth Children’s Hospital, where she was diagnosed with influenza A.
Doctors discharged her after two nights. The following morning, the three-year-old began coughing up blood and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
“She had a coughing fit and that coughing fit, by the third or fourth cough, she started vomiting … but it wasn’t vomit,” Jessica Yugovich told 9News Perth.
At PCH, Aliyah was placed in a coma, with her parents making the gut-wrenching decision to turn off her life support. She was declared dead on July 7, 2024.
A WA Health SAC-1 review returned 16 recommendations, but noted none contributed to the Forrestfield girl’s death, with 9News Perth revealing her cause of death was multiple organ failure from a post tonsillectomy haemorrhage.
The review and coronial findings noted an anti-seizure drug found in the three-year-old’s body was mostly likely transmitted by a blood donor. But medical professionals stressed it played no part in Aliyah’s death.
One major takeaway from the SAC-1 review was the need for better bereavement services and support for grieving families.
That is something Jessica has now dedicated her life to, creating the Aliyah Mae Foundation just 7 weeks after losing her daughter.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Child and Adolescent Health Service said the service was grateful for the ongoing relationship with the Yugovich family, and had worked together on improvements, particularly in how to support bereaved families.
“We acknowledge and thank the Yugovich family for their advocacy and we remain committed to honouring Aliyah’s story as part of our ongoing learning,” the statement read.
“Multi-agency clinical incident review was undertaken to examine the care provided. CAHS is deeply committed to making meaningful change for families experiencing unimaginable loss and the contributions of families with lived experience is invaluable in helping to shape improved supports.”
Jessica is now a finalist for the WA Volunteer of the Year for her work to ensure no parent went through the same pain she did.
The couple were placed on a four-month wait list for grief counselling after losing their daughter and had a bunch of pamphlets put on their doorstep. Jessica is now on a mission to ensure every grieving parent never feels alone.
“I made her a promise before she passed … she was going to change the world one day and now that she’s not here to do it herself I’ve got to make sure I do it for her,” Jessica said.
The foundation offers support to parents who lose a child up to the age of 17. It’s Australia’s first trauma support hub offering guidance on a range of tasks from planning a funeral to explaining loss to siblings or teachers.
The WA Volunteer of the Year for 2026 will be announced in May.
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