Mum’s heartache as ‘wonderful’ son, 3, dies just 48 hours after complaining of stomach ache
A MUM has spoken of her agony after her "wonderful" little boy died just 48 hours after complaining of a stomach ache.
"Healthy, smiley" Jude Chinn, three, was rushed to hospital after suffering pains and vomiting.
Scans revealed his bowel had become twisted. He was taken for emergency surgery at Bristol Children's Hospital - but despite the efforts of medics, he couldn't be saved.
Now mum Laura Chinn, of Taunton, has paid heart-breaking tribute to her son.
She told : "He was a happy, healthy, smiley, wonderful, caring little boy.
";He loved his little brothers, who are aged six and one.
"He was fine, had no underlying health conditions or anything, then went to bed having just FaceTimed his granddad and uncle.
"An hour later he was complaining of a tummy ache and was sick throughout the night.
"In the morning he was quite unresponsive, drifting in and out.
"We rang for help and he was rushed into Musgrove Park hospital where they tried to assess what was going on."
Medics thought the tot could have diabetes. However, a scan ruled out the diagnosis.
During a surgery to probe the cause of Jude's illness, doctors discovered part of the little one's bowel had "died off".
They sent Jude to a bigger hospital for emergency treatment, where he battled on life support for 24 hours before 'slipping away', his mum said.
"At that point, our world fell apart," she said.
"We were just blown away by the care and compassion shown from every single member of staff.
"It was the worst time of our lives, but each member of staff came in with such positivity and energy, it gave us hope that everything would be normal and alright."
The family are now raising money for families in similar situations.
A team of 18 fundraisers will complete the 900-mile trip between John O'Groats and Land's End in just nine days.
Dad Richard said: "We’re going to raise as much money as possible, because anybody in our situation deserves that.
"We came home and within a couple of weeks we’d discussed with a few friends what we wanted to do.
"We wanted to do something that would be hard work, really difficult and take a lot of dedication, not fun.
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"Three or four of us came up with the idea to cycle from John O’ Groats to Land’s End, and it caught fire from there."
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A JustGiving page has raised more than £23,500.
- To donate, visit the JustGiving page