Boy dies of heart failure after hospitalised with swollen face
A nine-year-old boy who was taken to hospital with a swollen face has passed away after suffering from a rare heart condition.
Ayden Watson, from Maryborough in Queensland, died on April 14 after he suffered heart failure from an undiagnosed condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy.
It's where the heart's ability to pump blood is decreased because the heart's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, is enlarged and weakened.
Ayden's father, Stuart, is now coming to terms with the loss of one of his five children.
"You'd never know if anything was wrong with him," he told the Fraser Coast Chronicle.
Mr Watson had taken his son to Hervey Bay Hospital after noticing his face had become swollen overnight and when tests revealed his heart complications, the pair were flown to Brisbane where further tests discovered the rare heart condition.
Mr Watson was forced to watch his son's condition decline as time went on. On April 12, Ayden suffered critical heart failure. Doctors spent more than an hour performing CPR.
On April 14, his father made the devastating decision to turn his life support off.
Ayden's siblings, Ethan, 10, Isabella, 7, Haylie, 6, and his twin brother and partner in crime, Mason, are barely coping with the loss, Mr Watson said.
"Ayden's twin is hurting the most," he told the Daily Mail. "I've never seen him so lost like he is right now. All the kids are not themselves."
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Mr Watson told the Fraser Coast Chronicle it's important to remember "to hug your kids tight".
"You never know when they might be gone," he said.
The family will be holding a funeral of the nine-year-old on Tuesday, April 24, at 1pm at the Heritage Chapel Maryborough Crematorium and said everyone is invited.
"I’m asking that we don’t wear black. And that bright colours or blue be worn," Mr Watson wrote on Facebook.
"The more people the better and most definitely kids are welcome as Ayden knew a lot of kids and they would be hurting too."
A Go Fund Me page has also been set up to help cover expenses with more than $8700 raised so far.
"The money to raise five kids is hard enough without now having to pay for little Ayden’s funeral. We want to be able to give Ayden a farewell every little nine-year-old boy deserves," the page says.
