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'Sickest child' may have to cancel holiday
14 Aug 2009A little boy who fought back from being the "sickest a child could possibly be" may have to cancel his first family holiday since recovering due to the swine flu outbreak.
Mathew Kappen was just 18 months old when he was struck down with an aggressive bacterial infection which left him with just a 2% chance of survival.
During the months that followed, he suffered two heart attacks, his kidneys shut down and his lungs were damaged.
But Mathew, now three, battled his way back to health and was due to fly to India later this month to see relatives for the first time since his illness.
Now the trip may be postponed because the swine flu virus is sweeping India.
Some 17 people have died and schools, shopping centres and cinemas in some areas have been closed to halt the spread.
Mathew's father, Jim Kappen, said: "The initial plan was to go to India on the 19th. Now all these things are closed there.
"There is a lot of panic going round especially with people who come from London and the UK."
Mr Kappen said visitors were being checked for signs of swine flu and could be swabbed and forced into quarantine until laboratory results came back.
"I really didn't want Mathew to go through all these things," he said.
Mathew, from Reading, Berkshire, has already been through a lot in his short life.
Suffering from pneumonia in August 2007, he was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital from the Royal Berkshire Hospital and quickly sent to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Doctors feared the worst after he suffered two cardiac arrests.
His father said: "Within an hour he had gone from a crying baby to completely still, his hands and legs frozen in position.
"The only sign for us that he was still alive was the bleeping monitor at his bedside."
Mr Kappen, 32, head of quality assurance at communications company Alcatel-Lucent, and his wife, Manju, 30, an IT analyst for Avis car rentals, were told that Mathew had pneumococcal haemolytic uraemic syndrome and might not survive.
It had destroyed his red blood cells and left him with a build-up of waste substances in his blood as his kidneys had shut down. The pneumonia was also a result of the infection.
PICU consultant Dr Sophie Skellett said: "Mathew was the sickest a child could possibly be at that time."
She said tests on his brain activity were initially "very worrying" and staff were "thrilled" at his recovery.
Mr Kappen said: "We kept a constant bedside vigil and played his favourite song, Manjadi, over and over.
"We joke now that we must have driven other parents mad."
Mathew gradually improved but his parents were warned that they should not expect "the same boy we had known before" as there was a chance of neurological damage.
"When he came round and called for his 'Appa and Amma' it was without doubt one of the best moments of my life," his father said.
Even then Mathew had to battle to overcome his kidney problems through dialysis and was constantly monitored by the hospital's cardiothoracic team.
There was a further setback when an X-ray showed Mathew's entire left lung had collapsed and he needed surgery.
But the little boy's spirits remained high and his parents bought him a bike which allowed him to cycle around the hospital and playground while tubes drained his chest.
The surgery was successful and, two months later, Mathew's kidneys started working by themselves again and he was referred back to his local hospital, leaving his bike for other sick children on Badger respiratory ward.
Mr Kappen said: "Mathew is like any other three-year-old, running around and going to nursery.
"It is truly a miracle given everything we went through.
"We are so grateful to all the teams who helped Mathew at Great Ormond Street Hospital - their care saved his life."
Now his parents hope to take Mathew to southern India so their families can see how well he has recovered.
"Mathew has been telling people about going to see elephants and climbing on top of them," Mr Kappen said. "But if I can postpone the trip, I will."
Yesterday the Government revealed the list of those people deemed at risk who would be the first to be vaccinated against swine flu.
Those suffering from asthma, diabetes, heart and renal disease or with a compromised immune system will be first in the queue to get the jab from October.
Pregnant women will follow the first group along with front line health workers.
:: Great Ormond Street Hospital needs to raise £50 million every year. To donate call 020 7239 3000 or visit www.gosh.org.
