The parents of a two-year-old boy who died from a ‘brain injury caused by sepsis’ just four days after doctors allegedly diagnosed him with constipation, have today demanded answers from the hospital that treated him.
Hudson Cole Perrins died on June 27 this year, four days after his worried father, Greg, first took him to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton with stomach pain.
The “cheeky” boy, who was just a month shy of his third birthday, had a complex medical history, including bladder and kidney problems and a heart problem.
Despite this, doctors quickly diagnosed him with constipation, his family said.
Now his mother Kayleigh Taundry, who works for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which also runs New Cross, is demanding answers from the hospital.
she believes Hospital staff took the most “obvious” route to diagnose and treat him for constipation, even though she claims there was little evidence of it.
She said: ‘As a family we just want lessons to be learned and we don’t want any other family to go through everything we’ve been through because it’s just devastating.
“The ground has just been opened and we have all fallen into a black hole, and we don’t want this to happen again.”
‘I was a month away from turning three. He was very cheeky and boisterous, but also very loving. He loved hugs and was very affectionate. He was our baby.
Hudson Cole Perrins died on June 27 this year, four days after his father Greg took him to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton with stomach pain.
Hudson (pictured), who was just one month shy of his third birthday, died of a suspected brain injury caused by urosepsis.
Pictured (LR) Kayleigh Taundry with Jude Perrins (center), partner Shannon Waightman and Hudson (right)
‘Hudson was born with a heart defect and had to undergo heart surgery when he was seven months old. We thought that would be the worst obstacle he would have to overcome.
‘I was finally turning a corner. He was finally catching up, he was finally starting to develop alongside his peers, he was finally starting to talk and we weren’t expecting this at all.
‘We are all still in denial. I can’t put it into words: he was a beautiful boy.
Hudson’s father, Greg, rushed him to the ER in the early hours of June 23.
Doctors felt a hardness in Hudson’s stomach and diagnosed him with constipation.
He was apparently given two suppositories and an enema before being sent home, even though he had not defecated.
The next day, his mother Kayleigh and partner Shannon Waightman returned to New Cross, as Hudson had started having seizures and was still in pain.
Hudson was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where he was placed on life support.
Unfortunately he died three days later.
The provisional cause of death was a brain injury caused by urosepsis, a type of sepsis that occurs when a urinary tract infection (UTI) spreads to the kidneys.
However, the full circumstances of Hudson’s death will be examined at a coroner’s inquest this month.
The provisional cause of death was a brain injury caused by urosepsis, a type of sepsis that occurs when a urinary tract infection (UTI) spreads to the kidneys. Hudson appears in the photo.
Hudson has been described by his mother as “cheeky and boisterous, but also very affectionate.” Pictured: Hudson sitting on his brother Jude.
Kayleigh pictured with her partner Shannon (right) and her brothers Hudson (left) and Jude (right)
Kayleigh emphasized that she in no way blames Hudson’s father for what happened when he first took Hudson to the hospital, but believes the staff should have made more efforts to contact her as Hudson’s next of kin.
She said: “His dad kept me informed, he kept texting me the whole time he was in A&E with Hudson, but it was all night so I didn’t realize until I woke up the next morning. By then everything had already happened.
“I think the hospital should have told me. I would have been able to defend him a little more.
‘I know Hudson inside and out and, having a medical background, I feel like I could have pushed for some things, because I know what should have been done and what was available to be done.
‘We have never had any other defects with New Cross. Even when my partner and I welcomed him back, we cannot fault the care we received.
‘Maybe it was the staff members who were there, or the time of day. When his dad took him it was the night shift, when we took him it was the day shift. You think, what if? What if it was a day shift, and what if I took it? Is it all just what if?
The family photographed on vacation: Hudson (left) with his mother Kayleigh, his partner Shannon and his brother Jude.
Hudson’s inquest is scheduled to be heard at Black Country Coroner’s Court on December 5 and 9.
Kayleigh said there are still many unanswered questions, including: Why wasn’t a urine sample taken, especially in light of Hudson’s history of bladder and kidney problems? And why wasn’t another cause of his belly pain and hardness other than constipation investigated?
He also questioned why Hudson was discharged despite not defecating. How did they record a pain score of two when Hudson wouldn’t have been able to describe that? And why wasn’t Hudson given pain relief even though he was clearly in pain?
Kayleigh added: “His provisional death certificate says brain injury with a major cause of urosepsis, but the evidence is inconsistent as to whether that was the case.
‘We haven’t realized. I hope we get more answers from the investigation, because right now we feel lost.
The inquest is scheduled to be heard at Black Country Coroner’s Court on December 5 and 9.
Clinical negligence expert Michael Portman-Hann, from leading Midlands law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, who is supporting the family, said: “This is a tragic case which has left the family with so many questions and concerns.”
“We will support them in any way we can to ensure that no other family goes through this trauma.”
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust said it could not comment until the investigation was completed.