Mystery as six-year-old schoolboy’s cough stops his heart FOUR times in just 48 hours
Family tell of their fear son Dylan Fitton could drop dead at any moment after he is struck by series of life-threatening fits
A SCHOOLBOY’S family have told of their fear that their son’s mystery cough - which is so severe it stopped his heart FOUR times - could kill him at any moment.
Dylan Fitton, six, had to be resuscitated by his uncle after collapsing at home while watching a film and was revived again as he waited for treatment in A&E.
The youngster then had another two life-threatening coughing fits while he was being treated by doctors at Royal Oldham Hospital.
His mum Leanne said Dylan would not be alive if it were not for the actions of his quick-thinking uncle Liam Fairfoull, who performed CPR while they waited for paramedics to arrive.
Leanne, 27, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, said: "It's just torture because every time he coughs you wonder if he's going to stop breathing.
"You worry when he goes to bed and when he goes to school. It's constantly in the back of your mind.
"The doctors said that the second time his heart stopped, he would have been dead if he had stopped breathing for another minute.
"As a parent it's your worst nightmare. We just don't have any answers at the moment as to what's causing it.
"The first time it happened, we were watching a DVD together. He turned blue and I just froze but Liam was amazing. Liam saved his life.
"Because he has a history of asthma and chest infections they wanted to keep him in for more tests and then he had another fit while he was asleep in the waiting room.
"Within 48 hours he'd suffered another two fits. Every single time the doctors had to restart his heart.
"It's left us totally in fear about what might happen next. He coughs and stops breathing completely. It's petrifying."
After his initial coughing fit on December 10, Dylan spent two days in Royal Oldham Hospital before being moved to North Manchester General Hospital.
He spent a further four days there, including two nights in a high-dependency unit before being transferred to The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for a fortnight.
Leanne and her partner Mark Hague, 34, are now fundraising with the rest of the family in order to have a defibrillator installed at Dylan's school, Stoneleigh Academy.
Leanne, who is currently pregnant with her second child, said: "He's got two inhalers and takes steroids as well, then sometimes he's on antibiotics.
"Whenever he coughs it seems his airways just close up completely. He's had all sorts of heart monitors and everything fitted to him but we're still waiting on answers.
"The doctors are due to do an endoscopy, which means having a camera down his throat.
"It's a nightmare not knowing. He's missed so much school already and he's beginning to realise that he can't do a lot of things normal boys can.
"He keeps pestering me to play rugby with Mark's son Alfie but it's just not safe. It's heartbreaking seeing your child go through something like this.
"We've had to cancel holidays as well so not knowing the source of the problem is making things hard for all of us."
