Toddler’s brave fight for life
IT started as just a common cold, but within days, a North Queensland toddler was fighting for his life in intensive care.
Herberton boy Kristopher Mann, 2, went to bed with a runny nose and cough last Monday and woke up the next day barely able to breathe.
His devastated mum Alannah rushed him to the hospital in Atherton, where he was put on oxygen and flown to Cairns at 6am before being flown to Townsville at 3pm.
“His condition went downhill so quickly, the doctors put him in a coma and had to put a breathing tube in,” she said.
“I was scared out of my mind.”
She said doctors discovered Kristopher had bacterial pneumonia — an infection of the lungs — which had taken a significant toll on him because he’d been born prematurely.
“If I didn’t take him (to hospital) when I did, I could have lost him,” Ms Mann said.
“He’s struggled with breathing before, but it’s never been this bad.
“Tears were streaming down my face, and I couldn’t keep it together.”
Ms Mann said Kristopher was still in a coma and on a ventilator in Townsville University Hospital’s intensive care unit on Monday.
She said his condition had stabilised after a “nightmarish” close call last Friday.
“I was driving home when I got a call from the hospital that I needed to get back straight away because Kristopher had turned hypoxic, and his oxygen dropped below 40,” she said.
“I thought I was returning to the hospital to a dead child. It was the scariest phone call I’ve ever received. But luckily, he stabilised after that.”
Ms Mann said their family of six — including Kristopher’s twin brother Tobias — had been travelling back and forth and staying with family in Townsville while he was in the hospital.
“Tobias is lost without him,” she said.
“Those two do everything together, and not having Kristopher there is starting to take its toll.”
She said the family was grateful for all the support they’d received from hospital staff and their local community, including the local newsagency that gifted Kristopher a stuffed toy of the Cowboys mascot Bluey.
A Gofundme appeal has been set up to support Kristopher’s family while he’s in the hospital.
“Our family is heartbroken, and we have three other children to care for while trying to have enough money for accommodation, petrol, food and everything else,” Ms Mann said.
“We are seeking help in order to help pay for these things, as they aren’t cheap. “So even if you donate $1, it would be amazing.”
If you would like to help visit: https://gofund.me/bf34937b