A teenager whose parents say hospital staff and paramedics dismissed his symptoms as a stomach bug and flu has died of a brain infection just days later.
Treva Ashton, 15, from Mt Druitt in Sydney’s west, first went to the doctor with her mother on June 24 after feeling unwell for about three days.
The ninth-grader initially had a stuffy nose, but began to feel worse and vomited on the evening of June 23.
Treva’s mother, Sharon Gauci, 45, said her son was confused at his initial visit to his GP, which alarmed the doctor.
“Our doctor said ‘he shouldn’t be here’ and gave us a letter to take to the hospital, which said he needed to be checked out immediately because he ‘looked really bad’ and ‘confused,'” she said.
“His temperature was 40ºC and his heart rate and blood pressure were low.”
But later that day at Mt Druitt Hospital, the family said they waited for about an hour and a half, at which point they were told to take Treva home to rest and given two Panadol tablets.
Treva’s father, Darren Ashton, 45, said they were told there were 60 patients ahead of them and it could be up to nine hours before a doctor could see him.
Treva Ashton, 15, from Mt Druitt in Sydney’s west, first went to the doctor with her mother on June 24 after feeling unwell for about three days.
The family says a triage nurse told them Treva “probably just has a stomach bug or the flu.”
“My eyes were rolled back in my head and I didn’t know what was going on. I was confused and dazed,” Ashton said.
“He’s a child, they should have seen him immediately; he’s under 16.”
Ms Gauci said her son was not willing to wait any longer to see a doctor and nursing staff said he was fine despite his high temperature, so the family returned home.
But once they got home, Treva started vomiting.
“He kept saying, ‘I don’t feel well. My head, my head,'” she said.
Ms Gauci said she put a wet facial cleanser on his head to help with the temperature.
“But he got chills and I knew it was an infection,” she said.
A teenager who was dismissed by hospital staff and paramedics as having a stomach virus and flu tragically died days later because his sinus infection had spread to his brain.
Treva could barely eat and suffered from headaches throughout the night, so she was given Sudafed and Panadol.
The next day, the symptoms worsened further and Treva complained of loss of movement in one leg.
During the night, the family was woken by Treva’s screams and an ambulance was called to the house at 4.37am on June 26.
“He said his head hurt, his stomach hurt, and he was throwing up,” she said.
But when the ambulance arrived, Ms Gauchi says the paramedic was sceptical about the severity of the situation and suggested the teenager simply needed to drink plenty of fluids.
The paramedic said, “He probably has a stomach virus or the flu and if we take him to the hospital he’ll catch other viruses.”
“But he was very pale. And I know my son. Something wasn’t right,” she said.
“You could see it in his eyes, he wouldn’t look at me. I told him there was something wrong with his brain.
“And she (the paramedic) said: ‘No, when you have the flu you act like that.’”
Treva’s heartbroken mother Sharon Gauci, 45, said that on his initial visit to his GP, her son was confused, which alarmed the doctor.
When Treva’s parents pointed out that she had lost movement in one of her legs, the couple said the paramedic attributed the loss of feeling to numbness.
“They said, ‘You know how kids are, I might be being too dramatic,'” Gauci said.
However, Treva’s condition worsened later that day and overnight. Her family noticed that her head was swollen, her vomit contained blood and she had body aches.
Treva said she felt like her head was going to explode.
An ambulance was called at 9.10am on 27 June and arrived shortly afterwards.
This time, paramedics took the 15-year-old to Nepean Hospital, where he quickly became unresponsive.
“I screamed ‘Treva.’ I screamed to call the doctors,” her mother said.
“I could hear the staff saying ‘we’re going to lose him, we’re going to lose him.'”
Once the teenager was placed in an induced coma and connected to a respirator, medical staff administered him antibiotics to help clear the infection.
But Treva’s CT scan results showed she had fluid on her brain.
The family was told that part of Treva’s brain was dead, and then the surgeon delivered the tragic news that their beloved boy would not recover.
“They had to rush him into surgery to remove part of his skull so his brain could swell, as well as to drain the fluid and then put the skull back in place later,” Gauci said emotionally.
“They told us that when they opened him up, his head was full of pus due to the infection.”
While he remained sedated in the ICU and on antibiotics, Treva’s surgeons had to perform another operation on July 1.
“They had to make a hole in his eyebrow to relieve the pressure and clear his sinuses,” MS Gauci said.
But after the sinus surgery, the pressure on Treva’s brain continued to increase and that same day, the 15-year-old was rushed into surgery, this time to have the other front part of his skull removed.
The family was told that part of Treva’s brain was dead, and the surgeon later delivered the tragic news that their son would not recover.
“The surgeon said there was nothing we could do. The nurses were crying because they don’t normally treat children. Everyone was very sad,” Ashton said.
‘We also learned that between the first and second ambulance he suffered a stroke.
‘He went to take a shower at home and fell. He lost the use of his legs. We didn’t know he had suffered a stroke.
‘We were also told that between the first and second operations he suffered multiple strokes.’
Treva’s parents said they are still in shock at how quickly it all happened and want answers about how their “cute” child was not a priority.
Treva’s parents said they are still in shock at how quickly it all happened and want answers about how their “cute, handsome and funny” boy was treated.
The family is wondering whether his life could have been saved if he had been treated at the hospital.
“It could have been avoided. I want justice for my son,” Gauci said.
“He was a very handsome boy, he was my baby. He always made a lot of jokes and he loved going on TikTok and making memes.
“He was really excited about the school holidays, going cycling and camping. He loved his dirt bike and was saving up to buy a bigger one because he was growing so much.”
Fighting back tears, Ms Gauci said it was now strange to be in the family home without Treva present.
“I have to walk through his room to get to mine and I can’t hear him playing on his X-Box,” she said.
‘I was doing laundry and I put his clothes on the clothesline. I was doing his laundry and I realized he wasn’t here, and that’s the worst.’
‘He would say “I love you” to us every night. He wouldn’t go to bed without greeting his dad with a closed fist and kissing his mom.’
Treva’s parents said they have yet to receive an apology or explanation from paramedics or NSW Health, but they do not want to take any action until after the funeral.
Treva will not be able to meet the new members of her family. On July 7, she was taken off life support and the next day, her sister gave birth to twin boys.
Despite their tragedy, the family wanted their son to leave a legacy.
“We donated both eyes, both kidneys, lungs, heart and pancreas,” he said.
“My baby died a hero.”
Treva never met her new family members. On July 7, she was taken off life support and the next day, her sister gave birth to twin boys.
The family is experiencing financial difficulties because Ms Gauci receives a disability pension and her partner is her carer.
The close-knit family of six, who also lost a son in 2007, said they have no idea how they will pay for the funeral of their second-youngest child.
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover expenses and has noticed that unauthorized fundraising campaigns have already been started in their son’s name.
“There are people trying to get money from my son. We don’t want anyone to collect funds in our name, we never gave permission,” she said.
In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia, Western Sydney Local Health District and NSW Ambulance said they “extend their sincere condolences to the patient’s loved ones.”
‘A review is underway and the family will be kept informed as it progresses.
“It is not appropriate to provide further comment at this time.”