A 17-year-old, Liam Andrews, was a perfectly healthy and normal teenager living in a town called Stockton-on-Tees in England when something horrific happened to him.
He had a awful sneezing fit that led to his collapse and later, his subsequent death from a brain hemorrhage.
His grieving mother still is not sure what happened that day, but instead could only reveal what she saw with details that are very hard to hear.
Here’s what his mom, Suzanne, said:
“Liam came downstairs in the morning complaining of a headache and saying he had just sneezed six times in a row. I thought it was nothing serious at first and I told him I would get him some paracetamol but then he got poorly very quickly. Initially he was saying ‘my head hurts, my head hurts, then he started being sick. His eyes were going back and forward and he was rolling around in pain. He couldn├óΓé¼Γäót work his hands. I gave him a glass of water but he threw it over himself as he was so hot. He was so hot I couldn├óΓé¼Γäót touch him, then he started to fit. I was extremely worried, I rang an ambulance and they were here within minutes.”
Liam was taken to a hospital and then taken to another one – James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough – where he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. He spent four days in critical condition until he passed away last June. His mother, understandably so, was totally shocked. She said:
“I was shocked and devastated when he passed away. I never would have imagined that something as simple as a few sneezes could kill a healthy young boy. I couldn├óΓé¼Γäót believe it, there was nothing to indicate that something like this would happen. I asked for a specialized post-mortem and it came back that he was absolutely fine. It is usually more common for this kind of thing to happen in people over the age of 40, not in someone so young and fit. I don├óΓé¼Γäót think there was anything anybody could have done to save Liam. It could have happened at any time or any day. I am just thankful that I was there to try and help and he wasn├óΓé¼Γäót by himself.”
His death wasn’t in vain. Since his passing, his organs were donated, and used to save the lives of six people.
Suzanne, who has five other children, is still devastated by her son’s death, but is thankful for the time she was able to spend with him. She said:
“Liam was very sensitive and loving, he was a real character. I could have mature conversations with him but he was still young and liked to get himself into mischief. I would never have swapped him for the world.”
We can’t imagine what this family has gone through. To lose a loved one at such an early age, and in such a freak manner is gut-wrenching to hear about – let alone to experience for oneself.
Our condolences to this brave and obviously very loving family.
[Image via Twitter.]