A grieving mother has spoken out about the sudden death of her youngest son in the hope that no other parent will go through the same nightmare.
June 20 started like any other for 13-year-old Chance Peniongo as he headed to school in Echuca in northern Victoria.
His mother, Regina Rose, picked him up from school several hours after he began complaining of headaches.
He ate dinner and watched a movie before falling asleep on the couch.
Early the next morning, Chance began experiencing seizures and was rushed to his local hospital, where he was diagnosed with influenza A.
The seventh-year student’s condition deteriorated rapidly within hours, before he was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in a coma.
That night, his family was told Chance had contracted acute necrotizing encephalitis, a rare brain disease that occurs after a viral infection, and that scans showed no brain activity.
Chance never regained consciousness and died six days later surrounded by his loved ones.
Chance Peniongo was a healthy teenager before he was struck down by acute necrotizing encephalitis.
Regina Rose (pictured with her son Chance) doesn’t want any other parents to go through the same nightmare after losing their youngest son.
Nearly two months later, Ms. Rose is struggling with the loss of Chance.
“I’m still digesting it, I haven’t yet assimilated it,” he said. Seven news.
“To see that a flu or something so rare took him down so quickly, it’s still a shock.”
She has spoken openly about Chance’s ordeal to raise awareness of the rare condition in the hope that research will save more lives.
“I knew immediately that something was wrong,” Rose recalls.
‘There was a big difference between seeing him that morning and seeing him at lunchtime.
‘I didn’t know much about influenza A, but that didn’t explain the seizures.
“I did not understand.”
The youngest of five siblings, Chance had recently become an uncle and doted on his nephews.
“She loved children and babies,” her mother recalled.
“He loved talking to everyone. He got along with everyone.”
The day after complaining of headaches, Chance fell into a coma and was flown to Melbourne.
The youngest of five children, Chance had a big heart and a smile that lit up any room.
Influenza cases in Victoria have quadrupled in recent months, while visits to emergency departments have increased six-fold.
Melbourne GP Dr Aadhil Aziz said Australians can protect themselves by getting vaccinated against flu.
TO Fundraising Created to help with ambulance and funeral costs to ease the financial burden on Chance’s family, she described the teenager as an angel and a diamond in the rough who lit up every room he entered.
“She had a huge heart and always sensed when others were sad and did everything she could to cheer them up,” the page says.
“It didn’t matter if you were young or old: if he sensed that you were depressed, he would do everything he could to make you smile!
‘He was very popular at school and entertained all his classmates and the teachers said that whenever he won a prize the other kids would applaud him when he did a dab, and then all the kids would want to high-five him when he passed by.
“He would find a strange kid at camp and strike up a conversation with him and decide, ‘We’re going to be friends today.’ He never liked anyone being left out.”