CARDIFF, Wales, April 16 (UPI) -- A woman in Wales who decided to mark her 34th birthday with a tongue piercing died of suspected blood poisoning, her family said.
Amanda Taylor's mother, Lorraine, told the Daily Mail she tried to talk her daughter out of the plan. Several British celebrities have pierced tongues, including Zara Phillips, Princess Anne's daughter, and Melanie Brown or Mel B., the former Scary Spice.
"But her friend was having it done too so I said to Amanda: 'You're going to be 34. I'll give you my blessing, but I'm still not 100 percent happy.' We're a very close family," Lorraine Taylor told the newspaper. "If I'd said no she wouldn't have done it. I wish I said no that day instead of yes."
Taylor said her daughter went to Silverhand Jewelers in Cardiff on April 5, where she had a small metal bar inserted through her tongue. Two days later, she went to see a doctor because her tongue was swollen and she was given antibiotics.
Lorraine Taylor said she went to check on her daughter later that day and found her lying dead on the floor in her Caerphilly apartment. A preliminary finding is that she died of septicemia and pneumonia.
