Andre Daisy: 5-year-old dies from meningitis after suffering seizures on way back home from vacation
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA: A 5-year-old boy has lost his life from meningitis infection, days after complaining of a stomach bug and a head ache. Andre Daisy, 5, tragically died days after he spent a dream vacation with his family at Queensland. The boy had developed flu like symptoms on Wednesday, February 1 - the last day of his vacation with his mother Trudy Stanley-Thaiday, stepfather Jarick and three sisters. Soon after, the family returned to Brisbane.
The next day, Daisy had woken up with a headache and also vomited. But there was nothing else to suggest that the boy was ill. Daily Mail reports that the boy was like his ‘normal happy little self’ with his mother convinced that he was suffering from a regular stomach bug. Unfortunately, on the car ride back home when they were close to Gladstone, Andre had suffered a seizure. His seizures kept getting worse as the parents called an ambulance and the boy was kept in a medically induced coma to grant him some rest when he was admitted.
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How did Andre Daisy die?
An hour after, Daisy was airlifted more than 560 kilometres to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Upon his arrival at the hospital at around 11 pm on Thursday, February 2, his family was informed that he would make a full recovery after the MRI results were received and he was shown to be stable. The child had however become unresponsive to the doctor’s attempts to help with the swelling of his brain. The family was then tragically informed that there was nothing else the doctors could do for the child.
On Sunday, February 5, the child died. He was surrounded by his mother, stepfather, father Larson Daisy and stepmother in his final moments. A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with funeral expenses. “Andre passed away peacefully, still connected to life support, taking any decisions out of his families’ hands. He got to see a new day dawn and was watching the sunrise while being held by both sets of his parents and other family. With their hands on his chest, they felt Andre’s last heartbeats and spent their final day cuddling him," the statement by Shaneen McCann, sister of Andre's stepmother, read on the page.
Andre's family calls for help
She went on to add, "Andre like many other kids joked around with funny sayings and phrases. Just over two weeks ago, Andre jovially said to his Mum, “When God comes knocking, you better let him in”. This phrase has brought so much comfort to the family; knowing that God must have come knocking ready to take this little Angel home to heaven. The outpouring of support from our loved ones has been truly humbling. I am hoping to ease the burden for Lana and Larson and their family in every way possible through seeking donations, big or small from the community. Lana and Larson have three young children, Opal (6 months), Majella (2) and Huey (4) and are currently on one wage with a mortgage to pay."
The fundraiser added, "It is estimated that transporting Andre’s body from Brisbane to Townsville will cost $11,000 alone. All funds raised will go directly to Lana and Larson to assist them in funding their half of this flight and funeral expenses, as well as assisting them with their own travel costs, supporting other family members to attend the funeral, loss of income during sorry business, and general expenses including their mortgage as they grieve their significant loss.”