Sean was airlifted by Careflight to the Mater Children’s Hospital in mid November 2008. He became ill at the beginning of November and was treated initially at Atherton Hospital. When his condition deteriorated he was airlifted to Cairns. Again he got worse and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit there but it was decided he needed specialist help.
At the Mater Children’s Hospital he was diagnosed with MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus). The severity of the infection caused his respiratory system to shut down and he sustained significant damage to his lungs.
“His whole body was septic,” his mother, Vicky, said. “I went to the hospital Chapel and cried to God to not take my baby away. He was put on a ventilator for more than a week - it was so close we could have lost him.”
Sean was given high-dose antibiotics and at the end of November was moved to the Reg Leonard units situated in the grounds of the Mater complex, in preparation to return home.
His lungs were so fragile that he was unable to fly home and had to endured a 32 hour train trip from Brisbane to Cairns. Sean is now home with his family and was able to enjoy Christmas with his grandparents who were visiting from England.
It is going to be a long haul to recovery as Sean still has air pockets and holes in his lungs, together with fluid in his right lung but Vicki is confident. “He will fully recover and be able to do all the things little boys do.”
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