Toddler, 3, left fighting for life after ‘going off his food’ – as killer cocktail of common viruses attacked his heart

A THREE-year-old boy was left fighting for his life after a rare combination of common bugs attacked his heart.

Freddie Julian had come down with what his parents thought was a virus – but within days he was placed on life support and underwent emergency heart surgery.

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“It was the worst experience of our lives,” Freddie’s mum, Vickie, from Powys, Wales said.

“The thought of losing your child is horrific.”

The lawyer first noticed that her youngster was unwell on June 16, when he developed a fever and she felt swollen glands at the back of his head.

That night, she rushed him to the out-of-hours doctors, who told her it was a virus .

Over the next few days, Freddie just got sicker, vomiting and falling asleep around the house.

Concerned, Vickie took her son to see another GP on June 19, who reassured her that Freddie “only had a virus”.

However, the little boy continued to grow more unwell.

“By this point, he had stopped eating, his arms and legs were freezing, his lips were blue, and his eyes kept rolling to the back of his head,” Vickie told The Sun.

At a loss for what to do, Vickie and her husband Steven rushed their son to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil on June 20, where a cardiac paediatrician scanned his heart.

Doctors soon discovered he had an enlarged liver and fluid around his heart.

Within a few hours, medics were forced to put Freddie on life support after his heart began to fill with blood and failed to function properly.

“I had to kiss him goodbye, it was so scary”, Vickie recalls.

Freddie was then blue-lighted to Bristol Hospital – the nearest centre to have an ECMO machine, the medical equipment needed to keep Freddie alive.

“We were so lucky we only had to go to Bristol, any further and Freddie wouldn’t have made it,” the mum added.

You know your child best, if you think something is wrong make sure you believe in that

Vickie Julian Freddie's mum

After arriving, little Freddie had a temporary pacing wire inserted into his extremely poor heart to ensure it continued beating.

Further tests revealed Freddie had slapped cheek syndrome, pneumonia, enterovirus and rhinovirus – which often cause the common cold.

“It was the slapped cheek that was making him the most unwell. because it was affecting his heart,” Vickie said.

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Finally, the only option was to put Freddie on a kidney filter and the new ECMO machine – similar to the heart-lung bypass machine used for open heart surgery.

The machine – which acts as an artificial heart and lungs – pumps blood out of the body, sends it through devices that add oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide, before the blood is pumped back into the body.

Vickie, who had never heard of an ECMO machine, said the whole ordeal was “terrifying”.

“The medical teams explained all the risks that came with it, but also said it was his last chance,” she said.

After five days of ECMO support, doctors believed Freddie’s heart had rested enough, so they gradually reintroduced blood to it.

Freddie’s blood vessels were reconstructed and he was successfully taken off ECMO.

A few weeks later, he was taken off life support and transferred to HDU in Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Vickie said her son was “so unlucky to fall so poorly with the viruses attacking his heart” and that, if it was not for the ECMO machine, “he definitely wouldn’t be here”.

RELEARNING HOW TO WALK

Freddie was moved to a hospital in Cardiff one month later, where he is closer to his family, including his five-year-old sister Millie.

He has begun intensive neurological and occupational rehabilitation for speech, language, physio, play and music therapy.

“When he first came off life support Freddie had lost his speech, was extremely weak and could no longer walk,” Vickie said.

“But with the help of therapy teams in Bristol and Cardiff he is already beginning to babble and can sit up independently again.

“Freddie is a force of nature, his determination is contagious, just like his smile.”

Vickie said she wants her family’s experience to remind others to “trust their instincts” when it comes to their children’s health.

“You know your child best, if you think something is wrong make sure you believe in that,” she said.

The mum also urged others to take common viruses more seriously.

“Never in a million years did I think our healthy Freddie would be on death’s door,” she added.

Vickie and her husband are raising money for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Bristol, so the medical staff can “continue to save many more young lives”.

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Red flag signs your child needs urgent medical help

IT'S always stressful when your little one is unwell.

Do you need to take them to hospital? Or not?

Thankfully, doctors have compiled a list of ‘red flag’ symptoms for parents and caregivers to watch for, so they can seek help quickly if their children show any of them.

The symptoms to look out for are:

• A worsening headache (becoming more frequent or severe) – especially if waking from sleep or associated with unsteadiness, change in behaviour or vomiting
• Weight loss (unintended) – especially if associated with other symptoms such as increasing thirst, passing more urine, excessive tiredness
• Excessive sleepiness / loss of energy or interest in their usual activities / things they enjoy
• Unexplained bruising
• Persistent pain in arms or legs without obvious injury
• Fever lasting more than 5 days

If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms please contact your GP as soon as possible.

In addition, if your child has any of the following symptoms, please call NHS 111 for urgent advice:

• Fever in child under 3 months of age
• Persistent vomiting – especially if bile (spinach/green pesto coloured) or blood
• Blood in poo
• Blood in urine (red or cola-coloured)
• Rash that looks like small bruises that do not fade with pressure
• Testicular pain or severe lower abdominal pain