A “Normal” Cold That Claimed Darryl’s Life

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By Sujatha Rajagopal

Who would have imagined that a runny nose and fever could turn lethal so rapidly? Read about this family’s heartbreaking experience with pneumococcal disease (PD).

Mr Heng never thought that a flu or fever could turn deadly, but all that changed on 6 March 1999. His three-year-old son, Darryl, was running a temperature and had the sniffs. Mr Heng brought him to the doctor, who prescribed Darryl medication for fever. When Darryl didn’t get well after two days, the Hengs went back to the doctor, who advised that Darryl’s fever might take up to seven days to subside, as his symptoms were similar to that of a fever outbreak in Hong Kong during that same period.

Darryl was then given antibiotics to which he became allergic, so he didn’t complete the course. On 13 March, seven days after Darryl first fell ill, the doctor advised a blood test, but it did not reveal anything unusual.

Later that same night, Darryl became increasingly breathless. The Hengs were used to seeing kids fall ill, so they were not overly worried. However, when they brought Darryl to the hospital the next morning, they were told that Daryl was very ill. He was admitted into a high-dependency ward and given oxygen to aid his breathing.

After several time-consuming tests, Darryl’s lungs were found to contain too much fluid and pus, indicating a serious infection. A tube was inserted into his lungs to drain them. The next day, Darryl’s condition worsened, and he was transferred to intensive care (ICU). A series of X-rays followed, showing Darryl’s lungs to be badly affected by what was initially dismissed as a harmless flu bug. Later, blood test results indicated a pneumococcal infection. Similar to a number of previous cases, the pneumococcal strains affecting Darryl were resistant to antibiotics.

Over the next few days, Darryl’s condition worsened. The doctors tried various antibiotics to address the infection. More tubes were inserted into his young body to drain fluid from his lungs. He was also given IV drips with many different medicines – at one point, there were 13 drips – including morphine to sedate him and ease the pain. Nurses were constantly changing the positions of the needles piercing into his veins. Mr Heng recalled, “Darryl was like a human octopus with drips and tubes, about 10 at one point, draining the fluid from his lungs”.

On 21 March, Darryl’s lungs failed to generate enough oxygen. Darryl had to be put on a respirator to help him breathe better, and to prevent his lungs from overworking. A week later, Darryl’s condition seemed to improve and his parents were hopeful that he would no longer need the respirator.

However, on Friday, 28 March, Darryl’s lungs collapsed.

The doctors spent three hours trying to revive Darryl, and had to introduce an expensive medicine (priced at over S$1,000 a bottle) to help deliver more oxygen to Darryl’s body, but the side effects dilated his blood vessels. To make matters worse, the hospital did not keep a high inventory of such expensive medicine and on that day, it was out of stock. As it was a weekend, the supplier could not be reached.

On 1 April, when his condition deteriorated again, Darryl was given the expensive medicine and as there were some improvements, the medication was continued for the next couple of days. However, the effect of the medication wore out as the infection continued to attack Darryl’s body.

On 3 April, just before noon, doctors broke earth-shattering news to the Hengs that they had done all they could. Darryl was not going to live through that day.

Darryl passed away at 3.10pm on 3 April 1999 with four pastors and his parents by his side. He had spent a total of 21 days in the ICU.

Darryl’s experience underscores the difficulties in diagnosing PD, as its symptoms are similar to a common cold or flu. PD can also progress very quickly; a previously healthy child can be in intensive care fighting for his life within a few short hours of the initial symptoms. These challenges make protection against PD crucial and vaccination is the most effective means to prevent and protect children.

A pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is available at hospitals, polyclinics and GPs throughout Singapore. The vaccine is strongly recommended for children from birth to 9 years of age, especially those below two years of age as they are at highest risk of pneumococcal infection.

Never take a fever, cold or flu for granted. With the vaccine, your child can be protected against PD for a lifetime.

Why wait and take a gamble on your child’s health?

About pneumococcal disease
Pneumococcal disease (PD) is a group of illnesses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus (S,) pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus. The bacteria can invade different parts of the body and cause different types of infections, such as
pneumonia (inflammation of the lung), meningitis (bacterial infection of the membrane of the spinal cord or brain), bacteraemia (bacterial infection of the blood), acute otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear) and sinusitis (infection of the sinuses).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), PD kills up to a million children aged below five in developing countries. In Singapore, 13.7 per 100,000 children less than five years old are infected with Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) each year. However, when pneumococcal pneumonias are included, up to 70 per 100,000 children less than five years old may be infected. As not all cases are reported, this figure represents just the tip of the iceberg.

As with most childhood illnesses, the most effective form of protection is vaccination. According to the WHO, PD is the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death in children below the age of five. The vaccine is already mandatory in 16 countries worldwide including the UK, US, Australia and France.

Side Bar: Did you know – From May 2007, you can tap on the Baby Bonus Scheme* to pay for your children’s medical-related expenses. These include consultation fees, vaccination costs, treatment fees and prescription costs incurred at approved healthcare institutions.

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