The 15-year-old Tuross Head girl tragically died late last week after routine knee surgery, when a blood clot triggered a heart attack.

Family friend Stacey Garner said the Carroll College year 9 student loved babies, with all their challenges, and had regularly looked after a group of friends’ children.

“Helen baby sat all our kids,” the Tuross Head mother of three said.

“She was beyond her years.

“She loved babies and if you had one, you could not get rid of her.

“Kids normally run if they see a poohey nappy, but Helen loved every bit of it, not just the good stuff, not just the cuddles.

“My second child will be six in a couple of weeks and Helen was there since the day she was born.

“You trusted her with your kids, you did not hesitate, you knew she knew what she was doing.”

Ms Garner said Helen had become a surrogate big sister and cousin to many neighbourhood children.

“She loved kids in general and they all loved Helen,” she said.

“She was always with them.

“They are bit confused right now.”

Helen would have celebrated her 16th birthday on September 16 and Ms Garner said she was becoming a beautiful young woman.

“She was a beautiful person and in the past six months she had started to blossom,” she said.

“She had a tight network of girlfriends, just like her mum does.”

Ms Gardner described the loss as “just an awful tragedy”.

She said friends would continue to rally around Helen’s parents, Kellie Chappell and Evan Wedmore.

“It is unimaginable what they are going through and all we can promise is that we will be there for them forever,” she said.

“Although Helen is gone, Kellie and Evan will never be alone.

“Helen will live on in our kids and in her friends.”

Carroll College Principal Ann Lovell said Helen joined the school at the start of 2014, but had quickly settled in.

"Helen made wonderful friends and earned the respect of her teachers by always doing her best," she said.

"Helen was a happy and positive student who always had an infectious smile.

"All of us at Carroll College have been shocked and saddened by her passing.

"She will be missed by students and staff."

Helen’s close friend from Tuross Head, Zoe Simons, 15, is mourning the childhood playmate she met when they both attended primary school at St Peters Anglican College, Broulee.

“We spent all our time together, riding bikes, adventuring around the bush and going to the beach,” Zoe said.

“We would take the kids for walks and get hot chips.”

In a tribute prepared for Helen’s funeral service, to be held from 2pm at Broulee Memorial Gardens, Zoe describes her friend as “a rose bud that continues to bloom and be pure”.

Mourners have been asked to bring ribbons in Helen’s memory.

The Bay Post/Moruya Examiner understands Helen was on Tuesday evening airlifted from Moruya Hospital to Canberra Hospital, where she died in the early hours of Friday morning.

The Southern NSW Health District said a 15-year-old girl was brought the Moruya Hospital Emergency Department on Tuesday, August 13.

A spokesman said staff had only recently been informed of her death and inquiries were continuing.