A mother who lost her young son to sepsis is urging other parents to be aware of his symptoms, saying if she can help just one family he will not have “died in vain.”
Derek Thaiday, 12, died tragically on Sunday, June 9.
‘He fell off his scooter on Tuesday and caught a cold on Wednesday. “When her wrist started swelling on Thursday, I thought it was just from the fall,” Ms Thaiday told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We took him to hospital and he deteriorated within a couple of days. On Sunday he was in an induced coma and on Monday he was on life support.
Doctors believe Derek had a lung infection that spread to his blood and caused him to go into septic shock.
Derek Thaiday (pictured with his mother) died on June 9 after suffering septic shock due to a suspected lung infection.
Derek (pictured) was just a few months shy of his 13th birthday and was the youngest of eight children.
‘Sepsis is a disease that kills. “I have had eight children and I have seen them sick, but nothing like this,” said Mrs Thaiday.
“The doctors said he was the sickest child in Queensland, it’s amazing because it’s a disease you can’t see. It’s terrifying.
‘People need to know the signs of sepsis. I want to shout it from the rooftops, they need to teach it to me.’
Derek’s family made the difficult decision to turn off his life support after his body could no longer fight the infection.
At that time, there was no circulation to his extremities and his lungs suffered irreparable damage.
“Derek fought hard to stay with us for five weeks and one day,” Mrs Thaiday said.
The 12-year-old, whose mother said she preferred to be called “an almost 13-year-old,” was the second toddler in the family to die in just over a year.
Ms Thaiday’s grandson and Derek’s nephew, Andre Daisy, died on February 5, 2023, aged five.
He suffered a severe case of meningitis and breathed his last just four days after he began showing symptoms.
One thing that greatly comforted his family was giving the little boy a personalized funeral.
The moving service involved singing and dancing in a room decorated in Andre’s favorite colors.
Derek’s mother, Glenda Thaiday, said he “fought hard to stay with us for five weeks and a day” (pictured, Derek’s sister fixing his curly hair)
Derek (right) passed away just over a year after his nephew Andre Daisy (left) died of meningitis.
His coffin was decorated with photographs of him and his favorite video games.
Mrs. Thaiday had hoped to give Derek the same send-off, but was forced to resort to online fundraising after being told he probably won’t be able to access his retirement.
“I need to do the right thing and send my son off in the best way humanly possible,” she said.
“I am 52 years old, I have contributed to my super and at the moment I have nothing to bury my son with, however I have been told I do not meet the criteria to release my super early.”
“I have to beg you to give my son a proper burial; you can’t rest unless you know you’ve done everything you can.”
“Thank God for things like GoFundMe, otherwise we might give Derek a pauper’s funeral.”
Despite their financial limitations, the family has begun to organize the details that would have meant the most to Derek.
Derek’s relatives will receive his body when it arrives in his hometown of Townsville on Thursday as preparations for his funeral continue.
His family said they are comforted by the “signs” they have seen that his nephew, André, is waiting for him on the other side.
“It sounds crazy, but on Sunday they took us to the pediatric ward and put Derek in Andre’s room,” Mrs. Thaiday said.
‘My daughter (Andre’s mother) and I were put in the same room that she and her partner stayed in the day Andre died.
‘The illnesses that took them both were also similar, they attacked their poor little bodies. Andre attacked his brain, Derek attacked his blood.
Derek and Andre (pictured together) were “very close” and Ms Thaiday said: “They were perfect for each other, there is no one more suited to be there for Derek.”
Ms Thaiday added that the young people were “very close”.
“They were perfect for each other, there’s no one more suited to be there for Derek,” she said.
He GoFundMe for Derek’s medical and funeral bills has received more than $3,400 from 53 donations.