Posted on 03/20/2021 2:12:46 AM PDT by nickcarraway
“It was frightening, he was white as a sheet, floppy and also had shortness of breath. We were so worried"
A mother says her son could have died because “Covid confusion” led to late diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes.
Fynn Hannify started feeling ill in November last year. The usually fit and active 10 year-old from Neath Port Talbot, began losing weight rapidly, felt tired and thirsty.
His parents Nicola and David and teachers noticed he was not his usual self but Nicola said she could not get a face to face appointment for him at the GP.
“He looked like a bag of bones, so drawn, and tired. He was very lethargic and dehydrated, so the doctors thought he had Covid and sent him for a test that came back negative.
“Because he was eating and drinking we were told that he would be fine and was booked for blood tests in a few days."
Fynn Hannify , 10, from Neath, who became very seriously ill with Type One Diabetes during the Covid pandemic. Eventually she said Fynn got a face to face appointment, but was told again he probably had a virus.
When her son suddenly got worse on the drive home Nicola decided to drive him straight to Morriston Hospital.
“It was frightening, he was white as a sheet, floppy and also had shortness of breath. We were so worried, so took him to accident and emergency where he was diagnosed and treated for type 1 diabetes," she said.
Healthline 38 Foods That Contain Almost Zero Calories MoneyWise.com US States Americans Are Leaving, Fast (Plus The States They're Moving To) by TaboolaSponsored Links Fynn was so ill by then that he stayed in hospital for a week. He now has to inject himself several times a day with insulin.
Nicola said Fynn has been “brave and resilient” but said she was told by one of the hospital doctors he could have died. She wants to highlight the risk of late diagnosis, especially during the pandemic.
“I feel a bit that their concern was just whether it was Covid or not and other things are not urgent.
“Fynn is normally a very active little boy and loves being out with his friends and this happened so quickly.
“When I first rang the surgery they were only doing telephone consultations and you are thinking you don’t want to overwhelm with something.”
Fynn Hannify , 10, from Neath, who became very seriously ill with Type One Diabetes during the Covid pandemic. Nicola praised the hospital medics but said the diagnosis was a "huge shock" to her son, who will now need to give himself insulin injections several times a day for life.
Last year, Diabetes UK Cymru warned that fears of Covid-19 and the impact of the pandemic on the health service were resulting in an increase of missed or late diagnoses.
Last month it emerged that a child with undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes died because of delays seeking medical help during the pandemic.
Professor Adrian Edwards a part-time GP and Professor of General Practice at Cardiff University, told the Senedd’s Children Young People and Education Committee the child was a patient at his practice in Torfaen.
Type 1 diabetes causes the level of glucose in the blood to become too high when the body cannot produce enough insulin to control it. It is usually treated with daily injections of insulin. The condition is not the same as type 2 diabetes which is linked to age and weight.
Nicola said she and her husband David would now also have to watch for possible signs of Type 1 diabetes in their two other children Holly, 12 and Thomas, two. Anyone can get the condition and it can run in families.
Dai Williams, National Director at Diabetes UK Cymru said: “Fynn’s case shows how serious a late or missed diagnosis of type 1 diabetes can be.
“The condition can be overlooked and dismissed. Last year, a child of a similar age died as a result of undiagnosed diabetes in Wales, because of delays seeking medical help during the pandemic.
“Type 1 diabetes is easily overlooked and symptoms can be mistaken for viral infections, particularly in children and young people, which can lead to medical emergencies.
“Covid-19 has just confused matters more, with diagnoses being missed or delayed. We’re urging people to not let fears of Covid-19 stop them from seeking medical help and also for parents, carers, healthcare professionals and the public in general to be aware of the symptoms, as lockdown has disrupted face-to-face opportunities to educate the Welsh population about what can quickly become a life-threatening condition”
Fynn Hannify , 10, from Neath, pictured first left with his mum Nicola, sister Holly, 12 and brother Thomas, two. Fynn became very seriously ill with Type 1 Diabetes during the Covid pandemic.
Dr Anjula Mehta, Group Medical Director for Primary Care, Community and Therapies Services for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: “We are very sorry to hear of this patient’s experience.
"Whilst we cannot discuss individual cases without the patient’s or parents’ permission, I would like to reassure the family and wider public that learning from this case will be shared with all service teams to ensure we achieve consistent, quality patient centred care in every contact.
"I appreciate that healthcare services are operating in different ways at present due to the pandemic, but I want to stress that general practice is here for you, the service is open and ready to respond to your needs.”
Jane Phillips, Interim Head of Nursing for Children and Young People for the health board, added: "We urge all parents to be aware of the symptoms of diabetes type I in children. In most cases they are diagnosed at the first point of medical contact.
"The National Children and Young People’s Diabetes Network, which includes our paediatric diabetes team, works alongside GPs and Diabetes UK to continue to improve care for children with this condition.”
Type 1 diabetes possible symptoms
Diabetes UK Cymru said possible signs of the condition are known as the four Ts. They are:
Diabetes UK Cymru has launched a “Think: Could it be type 1 diabetes: the 4 Ts: campaign.
It warns that if anyone, or their child, has any of the signs and symptoms they should “go straight to the doctor and insist on a test for Type 1 diabetes there and then”.
If the result indicates type 1 diabetes, the GP should arrange for them to see a specialist diabetes team the same day for immediate treatment to bring their diabetes under control.
The pre-diagnosed diabetes vicious circle. If it’s anything like Type II: blood sugar rises -> thirst -> drink more (possibly sugar drinks) -> interrupted sleep due to bathroom breaks -> tiredness and generally feeling bad.
When I was just a boy, my friend and next-door neighbor woke up in the middle of the night to tell his parents he didn’t feel well. He was about 9 or 10 years old at the time. He woke his mom, then promptly collapsed on the floor. They rushed him to the hospital, only to find that he was on the verge of a diabetic coma. No previous sign of diabetes whatsoever.
Really scary stuff.
Unquenchable thirst and chronic lethargy are classic symptoms of diabetes. What kind of irresponsible GP wouldn’t query diabetes and order bloodtests to screen for it?
Bloody NHS.
Clap for carers!
Hundreds of thousands of people died last year beyond “normal.”
There are those idiots who chalk that all up to COVID-19 infection. but the truth is many people died died because hospitals and clinics were closed and people were afraid they’d die if they did somehow get in for medical care.
Remember, all deaths can only be from COVID-19 infections if anyone can guess they had COVID-19. Official guidance said so.
Its actually much worse and sometimes fatal. Ketoacidosis, vomiting,extreme pain, cerebral swelling, shortness of breath.
Cardiovascular centers saw the number of stroke and heart attack victims fall to 30-50% of prior numbers. These conditions occur at a given rate per year. The people not coming in didn’t get better. They died or were incapacitated.
We can be sure many deaths were caused by the government mandated lockdowns and denial of care.
Yeah but it’s government run healthcare so far superior. A few days for a blood test..... Yeah. Great.
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