A DISTRAUGHT FAMILY is desperate to find answers. Their little boy died after he suffered a heart attack and they thought he had a stomach bug.
Last August, Lucius Curry was only five years old when he died in the arms his parents John and Joanne Curry.
6
6
6
Lucius, who had Down’s syndrome, had started feeling ill during a family outing to a playpark the previous day.
Lucius’ post-mortem exam revealed that he suffered from cardiac failure caused by bronchopneumonia. This is a form pneumonia which affects the bronchi – the tubes through the windpipe carrying air into the lungs.
He also tested positive for viral infections, and streptococcus (group Strep A).
Joanne and John, boThe th 47 from Belfast, are sharing his story as a warning to oThe ther parents about how quickly children can deteriorate when they’re unwell.
They have requested a public inquest into the circumstances surrounding their son’s death and are now fundraising to cover their legal fees.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” says Joanne, whose home is full of photos of her boy. “I keep expecting him to run in.
“He was such a cheeky wee monkey; he was into everything. He loved torturing his daddy by taking his car keys or shouting, ‘Hello’ out of the windows to the neighbours.”
Joanne has three grown up children – Podrick, 29, Liam, 28, and Cora-Rose, 20 – who all doted on their little brother.
She and John spent a decade trying for a baby and had “given up” when Lucius came along.
“John got a wee surprise just after his 40th birthday,” says Joanne with a laugh.
“I told him I was pregnant and he said, ‘Yeah right’ so I gave him the pregnancy test and said, ‘Happy 40th’.
“We were both over the moon. John has adopted my daughter Cora-Rose but we were ten years trying for a child together.”
Lucius was born by C-section on December 9, 2016 and Joanne and John immediately spotted that his features suggested Down’s syndrome.
“They called me over to meet him, and he looked like me, he had my eyes,” remembers John.
“But I could see he was going to be a wee bit different.”
Lucius’ heart also has two holes, as confirmed by tests.
The one that was left closed naturally. He died while awaiting an evaluation and possibly surgery for the other.
FULL OF JOLLY
Lucius developed into an enormous personality. He entertained his family through his singing, dancing and acting.
Cora Rose is a champion Irish dancer and loves teaching her brother how to point toes.
“He loved nursery rhymes,” remembers bar supervisor Joanne.
“His favourites were Five Cheeky Monkeys, Old MacDonald and Twinkle Twinkle.
“The whole family adored him; Cora-Rose idolised him and he loved going to soft play with his brothers.
“He’d started at a special school and was doing well.”
Lucius’s cheeky personality was on full display in the weeks leading up to the death of his father. Lucius planned to steal yoghurt from the refrigerator, and even dressed as a rainbow bowtie with t-shirt for Belfast Pride 2022.
Joanne then took him to the local Funtasia play park on Saturday August 6th. After a brief time at the soft-play area, he was ready to return to his buggy.
She took him to her home when he began vomiting and called the after-hours GP at 6.30pm.
“When the doctor called back I told him I’d given Lucius Calpol and was syringing water,” Joanne says.
“He said it sounded like a wee bug and to keep doing what I was doing.”
Joanne and John took Lucius for a walk around 3am, after an unsettling start to their night.
John explains: “Usually being in the car sent him straight to sleep – you’d put him in the car and he’d be out cold.
“But after 20 minutes it wasn’t really helping so we went back home.”
Joanne and John were still in shock after the events that followed.
After pointing to his tummy and saying, ‘Oww’ Lucius had a small nose bleed, then became lethargic.
His parents decided to take him to Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast at around 4.30am, thinking he may have a urinary tract infection, but as they were getting ready, Joanne noticed her son’s lips turning blue.
“I shouted to John and we just grabbed him and ran for the car,” says Joanne. “We flew down the road on two wheels.
“When we got to the hospital we stopped outside A&E and John was flashing his lights and beeping his horn.
“A doctor ran straight out and got us through into resus.”
PURE TERROR
Joanne and John were terrified for 45 minutes as the medics treated their son.
“At one point the doctor came out and said Lucius had suffered a cardiac arrest and they were trying to resuscitate him,” says Joanne.
“He said they were doing everything they possibly could.”
Lucius called the couple in 15 minutes later and said that nothing could be done.
“It was horrific, they’d tried everything, even the nurses were crying their eyes out,” says Joanne.
“The staff were brilliant that night, absolutely brilliant, they were so kind to us.
“We called our family and they all came down. Cora Rose was in a state of absolute panic. We said goodbye and I sang to him – You Are My Sunshine.
“I was telling him he was mummy’s wee duck. I just couldn’t believe it was happening.”
Lucius’s funeral was held on Friday, August 12, less than a week after he was playing in Funtasia.
Pink was asked as the colour of choice for mourners.
His grave is now decorated with monkeys, butterflies, Spiderman and sleeping bunnies, and Joanne visits every day – singing to her son and telling him what’s going on at home.
She says: “I went to a medium and my daddy, who died three years ago, came through and Lucius was with him.
“That gives me some comfort, knowing he’s with my father.”
In November the family hosted a fundraiser in Lucius’s memory, raising over £8,000 for Family Life with Ups and DownsThen, Kids Together Belfast – both organisations that had supported Lucius.
“We want to tell his story,” says Joanne. “If we can help one other family be aware of things like viruses and how dangerous they can be, then that’s something.
“If in doubt, trust your instinct and go to the hospital.
“Lucius means ‘my light’ in Irish and that’s what he was to us. We just can’t believe he’s gone.”
To support them visit their website. You can visit them to support their cause. Gofundme page.
6
6
6