A DISTRAUGHT family are desperate for answers after their little boy suffered a cardiac arrest and died just hours after he fell ill with what they believed was a tummy bug.
Little Lucius was five when he passed away in the arms of his devastated parents Joanne and John Curry last August.
Belfast News & PicturesLucius Corry was 5 when he fell ill with what his parents thought was a tummy bug[/caption]
Belfast News & PicturesLucius, who had Down’s Syndrome, deteriorated quickly that night[/caption]
Belfast News & PicturesLucius, picture with his mum Joanne and dad John, suffered cardiac arrest as a result of a kind of pneumonia, and died in August 2022[/caption]
Lucius, who had Down’s syndrome, had started feeling ill during a family outing to a playpark the previous day.
A post mortem examination found Lucius suffered cardiac failure as a result of bronchopneumonia – a form of pneumonia that affects bronchi, the tubes that carry air to the lungs from the windpipe.
Tests showed he also had viral infections and a streptococcus pyogenes (a group Strep A) infection in his system.
Joanne and John, both 47 from Belfast, are sharing his story as a warning to other parents about how quickly children can deteriorate when they’re unwell.
They have requested a public inquest into the circumstances surrounding their son’s death and are now fundraising to cover their legal fees.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” says Joanne, whose home is full of photos of her boy. “I keep expecting him to run in.
“He was such a cheeky wee monkey; he was into everything. He loved torturing his daddy by taking his car keys or shouting, ‘Hello’ out of the windows to the neighbours.”
Joanne has three grown up children – Podrick, 29, Liam, 28, and Cora-Rose, 20 – who all doted on their little brother.
She and John spent a decade trying for a baby and had “given up” when Lucius came along.
“John got a wee surprise just after his 40th birthday,” says Joanne with a laugh.
“I told him I was pregnant and he said, ‘Yeah right’ so I gave him the pregnancy test and said, ‘Happy 40th’.
“We were both over the moon. John has adopted my daughter Cora-Rose but we were ten years trying for a child together.”
Lucius was born by C-section on December 9, 2016 and Joanne and John immediately spotted that his features suggested Down’s syndrome.
“They called me over to meet him, and he looked like me, he had my eyes,” remembers John.
“But I could see he was going to be a wee bit different.”
Tests confirmed that Lucius was also born with two holes in his heart.
One of them went on to close naturally, but he was awaiting a review and possible surgery on the other when he died.
FULL OF JOY
Lucius grew into a huge personality, entertaining his family with his singing and dancing.
Cora-Rose is an Irish dancing champion and she loved teaching her little brother to point his toes.
“He loved nursery rhymes,” remembers bar supervisor Joanne.
“His favourites were Five Cheeky Monkeys, Old MacDonald and Twinkle Twinkle.
“The whole family adored him; Cora-Rose idolised him and he loved going to soft play with his brothers.
“He’d started at a special school and was doing well.”
In the months leading up to his death, Lucius was his usual cheeky self, plotting to steal his favourite yoghurts from the fridge and dressing in a rainbow bowtie and t-shirt to attend Belfast Pride 2022.
A month later, on Saturday, August 6, Joanne took him to local playpark Funtasia, but after a short time in the soft play area he wanted to get back into his pram.
When he started vomiting she took him home and at around 6.30pm that evening she called the out-of-hours GP service.
“When the doctor called back I told him I’d given Lucius Calpol and was syringing water,” Joanne says.
“He said it sounded like a wee bug and to keep doing what I was doing.”
After an unsettled start to the night, Joanne and John ended up taking Lucius out to their car around 3am and going for a drive.
John explains: “Usually being in the car sent him straight to sleep – you’d put him in the car and he’d be out cold.
“But after 20 minutes it wasn’t really helping so we went back home.”
The events of the following hours happened so fast that Joanne and John are still reeling.
After pointing to his tummy and saying, ‘Oww’ Lucius had a small nose bleed, then became lethargic.
His parents decided to take him to Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast at around 4.30am, thinking he may have a urinary tract infection, but as they were getting ready, Joanne noticed her son’s lips turning blue.
“I shouted to John and we just grabbed him and ran for the car,” says Joanne. “We flew down the road on two wheels.
“When we got to the hospital we stopped outside A&E and John was flashing his lights and beeping his horn.
“A doctor ran straight out and got us through into resus.”
PURE TERROR
For 45 minutes Joanne and John sat in the corridor in terror as medics worked on their son.
“At one point the doctor came out and said Lucius had suffered a cardiac arrest and they were trying to resuscitate him,” says Joanne.
“He said they were doing everything they possibly could.”
Fifteen minutes later the couple were called in to see Lucius and told nothing more could be done.
“It was horrific, they’d tried everything, even the nurses were crying their eyes out,” says Joanne.
“The staff were brilliant that night, absolutely brilliant, they were so kind to us.
“We called our family and they all came down. Cora-Rose was in absolute bits. We said goodbye and I sang to him – You Are My Sunshine.
“I was telling him he was mummy’s wee duck. I just couldn’t believe it was happening.”
Lucius’s funeral was held on Friday, August 12, less than a week after he was playing in Funtasia.
Mourners were asked to wear a splash of pink as it was his favourite colour.
His grave is now decorated with monkeys, butterflies, Spiderman and sleeping bunnies, and Joanne visits every day – singing to her son and telling him what’s going on at home.
She says: “I went to a medium and my daddy, who died three years ago, came through and Lucius was with him.
“That gives me some comfort, knowing he’s with my father.”
In November the family hosted a fundraiser in Lucius’s memory, raising over £8,000 for Families with Ups and Downs, and Kids Together Belfast – both organisations that had supported Lucius.
“We want to tell his story,” says Joanne. “If we can help one other family be aware of things like viruses and how dangerous they can be, then that’s something.
“If in doubt, trust your instinct and go to the hospital.
“Lucius means ‘my light’ in Irish and that’s what he was to us. We just can’t believe he’s gone.”
The family are now raising money to cover their legal fees for an inquest. To support them visit their gofundme page.
Belfast News & PicturesHis sister, Cora-Rose was Lucius’ biggest fan[/caption]
Belfast News & PicturesLucius was a ‘cheeky little monkey’ and loved joking around with his family[/caption]
Belfast News & PicturesJoanne and John hope that sharing Lucius’ story will encourage parents to go to the hospital if they’re worried about their child’s health[/caption] Read More