Aussie boy paralysed after hospital 'brushes off' symptoms
Medical staff at the Melbourne hospital allegedly told Jessica Bye her son was 'exaggerating' before sending them home.
A distraught mum "feared the worst" when her son suddenly became paralysed, just moments after being discharged from hospital where his "excruciating" symptoms were dismissed.
Maysen, 12, had been experiencing "severe pain" throughout his body and was unable to eat properly for days. The active young boy was also experiencing "really intense headaches" his mum Jessica Bye explained.
After rushing to Bacchus Marsh Hospital on July 31 near their hometown Melton in Victoria, they were transferred to Sunshine Hospital by ambulance. But when they arrived, medical staff allegedly dismissed Maysen's symptoms.
"They said they think his symptoms don't add up and that they think he's exaggerating," Jessica told Yahoo News Australia, adding they appeared to "brush off" his symptoms.
"They questioned me and said, 'has he expressed that he wants to spend more time with you?'", suggesting he just wanted to stay home from school.
'I thought he was having a stroke'
But on the way home from the hospital after being "wrongly" discharged, panic set in for Jessica when Maysen began slurring his words.
"When I looked at him the whole left side of his face was drooping. He was paralysed. I thought he was having a stroke or had a brain tumor," she recalled.
Boy receives life-changing diagnosis
Jessica returned to Melbourne's Sunshine Hospital where she'd not long before had to "physically lift him into the car" because he couldn't move. This time they were taken seriously and were transferred to the Royal Children's Hospital and the following day he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
GBS — a rare form of nerve inflammation — is usually triggered by a viral infection or illness, but Maysen had been "perfectly fine".
"The condition that he has, it progresses so incredibly rapidly," Jessica said. "I have no doubt he would have ended up in ICU on a ventilator if he wasn't diagnosed when he was".
'Really hard to watch' son unable to walk or eat
After almost two weeks in the hospital, Maysen still can't eat and is relying on a feeding tube. He's lost 25 per cent of his body weight, his aunty Kaitlin revealed in a GoFundMe set up for the family to help with ongoing treatment and living costs.
"It’s horrible. He's usually tough and running around and doing all the kid things," Jessica said. "Now he's in a hospital bed wearing a nappy again at 12 years old. It's just really hard to watch."
The 12-year-old is also faced with the challenging task of learning how to walk again and will likely spend months in hospital. But it could take years to recover completely Jessica said, acknowledging the "long road ahead".
Mum files complaint with Sunshine Hospital
Angered by how easily her son was dismissed at Sunshine Hospital, Jessica has filed a formal complaint.
"I want to know why they sent him home when the kid was so incredibly sick," she explained. "I want this to change. I don't want this to happen to other people."
"I want the hospital to know that they've made this mistake because they can't fix their mistakes unless the mistakes are brought to their attention."
Despite the hospital's initial treatment of Jessica and her son, she says they "were amazing" when she returned. "They were so intently worried about Maysen's condition and we had exemplary care," she said.
Major problem with Aussie healthcare system
But her experience highlights a larger problem with Australia's healthcare system.
"It's so stretched and we don't have the capacity to be able to have all of these patients seen. We don't have the resources and that shouldn’t be the case," she said.
"But we should feel comfortable being able to go to the hospital and know that we're going to be listened to".
A spokesperson from Western Health, which looks after Sunshine Hospital, told Yahoo News they have been in touch with the family.
“We acknowledge that this is a difficult time for the patient and his family. We are in contact with the family and are committed to thoroughly reviewing this incident to identify any opportunities to improve our care," they said.
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