He took full part in University life - partying
and rushing about at high speed and holding down a weekend job. He didn't
take recreational drugs as he was well aware of the dangers with his two
medical conditions. He was living life to the full.
The week he collapsed and died, he had been VERY
stressed about a number of issues. He had a quiet evening out, came in with
his girlfriend sat in the chair and passed out and his breathing became very
irregular. We called an ambulance and I did CPR until they arrived and took
over.
At the hospital they worked on him for some
time, to no avail. We didn't have a post mortem because all the medical
staff were convinced that his aorta had split (a Marfans outcome). His heart
consultant, on reading all the reports from the night, thinks that it was
more likely connected to the Ebstein's anomaly and was a massive heart
arrhythmia.
We have since learned that he often had mild
chest pains and irregular heartbeats and had fainted on more than one
occasion, but had ignored them as they passed quite quickly.
He was 21 years old and our only child. He was
very bright - bit of a know-all even!
When your child leaves home and has to take
responsibility for their own health and medication, it is a huge risk. They
know it all and don't want you nagging them. They only tell you what they
want you to know. Maybe it would have helped if he had still been monitored
twice a year still, something may have been picked up.
I try to console myself that
he wasn't killed in a road accident or another violent incident, or through
taking illegal drugs or fighting in the armed forces. For him, he just fell
asleep.
Liz Hodgson
