It started with a fever. Mom Lisa Hagelskytt (24) and dad Linus Bäckerstam (28) thought he was a completely normal cold.
The next day, the two-year-old boy was given paracetamol and his fever subsided. But when he didn’t have much to eat or drink, his parents became concerned.
So writes the Swedish newspaper The Espresso. Dagbladet has received permission from the family to reproduce the article.
It was met in the open
When the clock struck midnight, dad Linus took little Milo to the pediatric emergency room of the Sahlgrenska hospital in Gothenburg.
It was April and the coronavirus had an iron grip on the hospital. Even the kids’ ER had their own coronavirus rules, so Linus and Milo weren’t allowed in.
Instead, they were met by a nurse outside — in the middle of the night, writes Expressen.
SOON TWO: Not long before Milo turned two, he became very ill. Photo: private, via Expressen
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Linus was told Milo likely had a viral infection and says he was advised to give the boy more antipyretic medication. Then they were sent home.
The next day Milo started throwing up. When the two-year-old couldn’t swallow the ibuprofen pills anymore, Linus jumped back into the car.
It was almost impossible to get in touch with Milo now.
Serious infection
When Linus arrived at the hospital this time, he walked past the line. Along with Milo, he was placed in the waiting room.
It must have been over an hour and a half before a nurse arrived. Linus recounts how he lifted Milo onto a table to examine him.
Then the alarm sounded.
Linus recounts how a dozen people rushed into the room to take Milo to the emergency room.
The samples showed signs of a serious infection. The blood test showed a CRP value of 330 milligrams per liter. A healthy person is usually less than 3 years old.
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At first, the doctors suspected pneumonia and possible sepsis, which is often called blood poisoning in the vernacular.
– I was allowed to join all the time, but I didn’t understand anything. I felt like I lost control, Linus tells Expressen.
No pulse
After a few hours, Milo got worse. Suddenly he had no pulse.
When mom Lisa arrived at the hospital, they had been doing CPR for 30 minutes. Linus sat in a chair and watched.
AFTER THE SURGERY: Here, dad Linus stands with mom Lisa next to little Linus after the operation. Photo: private, via Expressen
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Then, after an operation, the doctors had a clear message: Milo was now only kept alive with the help of machines and medicines.
Lisa and Linus called next of kin. Then the doctors disconnected the ventilator, and placed the two-year-old in the arms of dad Linus.
Lisa was right next door.
– It took maybe five minutes, then he stopped breathing, says Linus.
Death by blood poisoning
On April 15, 2022, just 16 days before his second birthday, Milo breathed his last in his father’s arms. He died of blood poisoning which he contracted from untreated pneumonia.
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The funeral was full of colour. It was Lisa’s request: no black clothes, just bright summer clothes, lots of flowers and balloons.
– We wanted to highlight what he was like as a person. Milo was always, always very happy, Linus tells the Swedish newspaper.
THE FUNERAL: Milo’s funeral was filled with color and balloons, to highlight what the two-year-old was like as a person. Photo: private, via Expressen
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Lisa describes it as the “happy pill” in the room:
– He was like the glue of our family, he united our family, he was a person who had an attractive power. Milo was very kind. When I hear that word, I think of Milo.
Now it no longer exists.
– I couldn’t cry
In the family home in Fjärås outside Kungsbacka in Sweden, they have created a place of remembrance. When little brother Malte is asked where Milo is, he points to the photos and the little teddy bear that was on Milo’s coffin one day in May last year.
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Lisa remembers the hospital and the last minutes before Milo was gone for good. She says that the instinct to escape has taken over:
– In retrospect, I thought about how strangely I reacted. While they were doing CPR, I went to Milo and sang. I play music. I couldn’t cry, she says.
After the operation, the doctor came and said that the parents could go see Milo. Lisa says she didn’t want to see him lying there.
CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITY: Milo had a congenital chromosomal abnormality, which causes epilepsy. Birth checks show that he had not developed a heart defect. The syndrome had nothing to do with Milo’s death. Photo: private, via Expressen
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– Linus was very upset, but I was completely empty. Now, in retrospect, I regret it. I wish I could have kept it longer. It’s so weird how that works.
Lisa took Milo’s hand and foot prints and readied her baby at the hospital.
Then came the questions. How could this happen?
– It shouldn’t be happening
The family is critical that Milo was not allowed into the hospital the first time they were there. They also believe the hospital should have done blood tests.
– I don’t want to blame the nurse who sent Milo home. But that can’t be the case. We cannot lose children to failed routines. It just shouldn’t be possible, says Lisa.
They have now reported the hospital to the Swedish patient injury board, Löf.
A pediatrician at Löf concluded that if Milo had received help the first time the family went to the children’s emergency room, treatment could have started earlier. She could have saved Milo’s life.
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“Early diagnosis and treatment would most likely have prevented the boy from developing severe and fatal septic shock,” the doctor wrote in a statement.
– When we read it, it was as if it was taken away from us. That she had a real chance to improve, but didn’t get it, says Linus.
– I am deeply sorry
After a seven-month internal investigation, the hospital has now reported itself to the Swedish Health Inspection Authority.
Anneli Fagerberg is chief physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and is the one who handled the relationship.
– The hospital sincerely apologizes for this. Whether the child died or the parents feel they haven’t been fully heard in this matter, he tells Expressen.
THE CEMETERY: The parents have ensured that Milo’s grave is near a playground, making visiting his little brother’s grave a pleasant one. Photo: private
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The hospital cites, among other things, “the difficulty of assessing a medical condition outside of the emergency department” as the cause of death, as well as the decision to send Milo home and the fact that he was seated for more than an hour without supervision.
– We believe the communication could have been done better and are working with an action plan that has been drawn up in connection with the investigation, he says about the analysis of the incident.
– Very important
He also does not respond to Expressen’s questions about Milo’s case, as the hospital has decided that, despite the permission of the relatives, it will not comment on specific incidents.
Lisa and Linus have been in close contact with the hospital during the seven-month internal investigation. They say their case manager told them they could report the case themselves.
– It was very important for us to have full visibility and to be close to bring about a change. We have had the desire to follow up and be able to influence as much as possible, in order to be able to improve the routines so that no other family has to experience something like this. It shouldn’t happen to anyone else, says Lisa.
– It’s so sad
The Swedish health authority will now investigate the case further.
Parents go to the Milo cemetery several times a week. The graves share an area with a large playground, where there are rabbits, sheep and chickens.
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– We can tell little brother Malte that we’re going to play with Milo, instead of being sad. It feels good, Lisa says, but she elaborates:
– It’s eating me up. It’s so sad to think she might not remember Milo. She won’t be able to live life with her older brother.
