I thought my son would ‘grow out of his asthma’ but he died at the age of 8
A MUM who thought her son would “grow out of his asthma” has told of her heartbreak after her little boy died from the lung condition.
Jaydan Wileman would often suffer life-threatening asthma attacks that would lead him to ventilator treatment and countless trips to the hospital.
His mother Maddie said he was first admitted to hospital when he was just four-months-old.
In 2013, when he was just three, he was diagnosed with atopic asthma.
This is a condition which means that asthma flares ups and is triggered by allergies.
From 2013 to 2016, Jaydan visited hospital a handful of times and in May 2016 his condition started to get worse.
The youngster was put on life support after one visit to the hospital and the doctors started to realise he didn’t have atopic asthma.
In 2018 he was diagnosed with a rare form of asthma - brittle asthma - which is unstable and hard to control.
In June 2019 Jaydan sadly died after being diagnosed with different types of the condition.
Maddie, who lives in New Ollerton, Nottinghamshire said: "I always hoped Jaydan would 'grow out of it', something you hear a lot about asthma, but this wasn’t to be".
In October 2018 Jaydan’s treatment stopped working and he was given access to a high-flow nasal cannula machine at King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
The oxygen supply machine delivered 100 per cent humidified and heated oxygen at a flow rate of up to 60 litres per minute and Maddie said it “worked amazingly” for Jaydan.
"I couldn’t believe how much Jaydan improved because of the machine. After just two days on the machine, I could already see a massive difference”, she said.
What is eosinophilic asthma?
Around 250,000 people in the UK suffer from severe asthma, meaning they struggle to control their symptoms despite using oral steroids in their inhalers.
Half of severe asthma sufferers have elevated levels of a white blood cell called eosinophils, which has been associated with making the condition worse.
Eosinophilic asthma is usually seen in people who develop asthma in adulthood but may occur in children and young adults.
The causes are unknown and the symptoms include:
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing
- Lung function abnormalities
- Tight chest
- Inflamed nasal mucous membrane
- Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps
Jaydan’s condition continued to deteriorate and between January and March 2019 he was admitted to hospital every week.
By the end of March he was also diagnosed with eosinophilic asthma.
This causes severe disruption to the respiratory system.
Jaydan’s symptoms became so bad that he had to have biological injections.
While this meant Jaydan’s weekly visits decreased, the time he was spending in hospital went up and he would sometimes spend up to five days on the ward.
After spending six months on a high dependency unit, Jaydan succumbed to the illness.
Maddie said Jaydan had become “ever so sad” and that it was heartbreaking for the family to watch.
"Before his condition worsened, Jaydan was usually a really happy and lively boy, but was always ever so sad after intubation.
"He was always happy and resilient until the last year when he was in hospital weekly and missed a lot of school – he absolutely loved school.
"It got to the point where he couldn’t ride his bike or his scooter, he missed out on holidays, and he missed playing with his friends.
"It was heartbreaking to see how sad he became during the last six months as he realised he couldn’t do the same things as the other children."
Maddie said the machine at King’s Mill Hospital was a godsend and said without it he would have been exposed to more intrusive treatment.
Speaking to the Maddie said: “Without the machine, Jaydan would have had to be ventilated and intubated, both of which are very intrusive procedures.
"He would also have to be transferred to another hospital where there was a children’s intensive care unit. That machine really was a Godsend."
Now Maddie is raising funds for another machine at the hospital so other children can benefit from the treatment.
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She said it would be a “wonderful legacy for Jaydan and added that the machine will help staff look after other children who are suffering.
Maddie is being supported by staff at the Co-op Funeralcare branch in New Ollerton, who helped with Jaydan's funeral arrangements last year.
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Emma Gash, funeral director at Co-op Funeralcare in New Ollerton, said: “After we supported Jaydan’s family through his funeral and knew what a special person he was, we knew we wanted to support him in any way we could.
"After Jaydan’s parents told us they were fundraising for a new piece of hospital equipment, we decided to hold a raffle in the hope that we could help them on their way to their very worthy goal", she added.