Mum's grief over failed hospital bid
Deep down, Claudia Ling knew there was something seriously wrong with her usually active and healthy little boy.
As a nurse and a mother, she could see her two-year-old was suffering, but she took the advice of doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital and went home.
"You never want to think your child is going to die or that something bad will happen," she said.
"We tried to believe them."
Ms Ling told an inquest yesterday that she would never forgive herself for taking her son Christopher Tao home after his second visit to the emergency room.
Christopher died of myocarditis, an infection of the heart, in September 2010 after two trips to PMH and two appointments with his GP in five days.
Deputy State Coroner Evelyn Vicker is investigating Christopher's death to determine whether the hospital and GP assessments were appropriate.
Ms Ling and her husband Ran Tao, who worked as a doctor in China, found their child unconscious in his bed almost a week after he fell ill.
In the lead-up to his death, Christopher refused to eat or drink for about five days and developed a severe cough, a fever, a rash, diarrhoea and swelling.
Christopher was prescribed antibiotics for lymph node inflammation and tonsillitis after his first visit to hospital. Two days later, his GP Chin Tan told Ms Ling to take her son off the antibiotics because he may be allergic to them.
Christopher returned to PMH the next day, where a doctor considered the possibility he had the rare illness Kawasaki disease before discharging him.
Ms Ling told the inquest that she then took Christopher back to Dr Tan and was told he had measles and should not be taken to hospital in case he made other children sick.
"He (Dr Tan) patted my shoulder when I stood up and said, 'Don't worry, mummy'," she said.
"You see your child die in front of you. I will never, ever forgive myself."
Dr Tan denied telling Ms Ling to avoid the hospital, arguing that was not his usual practice.
Ms Ling and Mr Tao moved to Australia in 2007 to give Christopher, their first-born child, a better education and life.
Consultant paediatrician David Roberts said he believed Christopher developed myocarditis while he had Kawasaki disease. Dr Roberts told the inquest that Christopher had the symptoms of the disease when he presented at PMH the second time.
"I'm afraid that I do not think he was managed appropriately on that occasion," he said.
"It remains one of those conditions that you are always on your guard against."
