Help cover Ethan's medical expenses

As I tucked my little boys to bed tonight I couldn't help but think of my friend and her husband worrying about their little boy Ethan who is in hospital overseas on what is meant to be their first family holiday abroad.

Little Ethan is just over 2 and a half years old and since his was just 9 months old he has suffered severe seizures. In the last 6 months he has been averaging 1-2 seizures a month, some of them lasting between 30minutes through to an hour and all of them have warranted a hospital stay including Christmas Day. Instead of waking up and checking Santa had eaten his cookies and drank his milk, poor little Ethan was waking up yet again in Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in Brisbane.




Ethan's parents Lai-Wan and Phu were looking forward to their first family holiday in Hong Kong as they have been through so much as a family in Ethan's short life.  Unfortunately due to Ethan's pre-existing medical condition he was not eligible for travel insurance to cover any medical fees.




Lai-Wan and Phu know exactly what to do when little Ethan starts having a seizure and prepared themselves as best they could if little Ethan was to have a seizure abroad.

However no amount of preparation could prepare them for the series of events that happened less than 48 hours after landing in Hong Kong, Lai-Wan has descibed the heart breaking details in bold below:


"Today, we had planned to go to Ocean Park but as we know, nothing ever really goes to plan. I was thankful that we had an "uneventful" flight but I guess my luck quickly ran out.

Ethan had a seizure on Friday afternoon and thankfully it happened in a shopping centre and not out in the rain on the streets or in a subway. Both Phu and I took action and knew what we had to do. The shopping centre staff acted promptly and called an ambulance. We got sent to the closest hospital and when we arrived, we were seen by doctors immediately, examinations were done, chest x-ray done, sent to a ward and given a bed within 1-2 hours.

His seizure went on for an hour . He was unconscious and very slow to respond or hardly responding and pretty much passed out for the rest of the night. Chest x-ray showed that his right lung appeared hazey and doctors suspected possible aspiration into the lung as he had vomitted. His breathing was compromised and was hypo ventilating. Blood gases were low and his breathing was shallow and weak which was why he was in such a deep sleep (perhaps mildly comatosed). We were admitted to the general paediatric ward but Ethan was struggling to breathe and so he got sent to ICU and put on a ventilator to assist him. They were close to intubating him. They managed to get him breathing better which increased his oxygen saturation levels but it was still weak. 
 
Doctors later believed Ethan may have somehow contracted a viral infection which was causing his pneumonia in his right lung rather than the aspiration. His oxygen levels were closely monitored overnight and blood gases were done every few hours. His breathing improved but wasn't the greatest.

So coupled with an infection as well as being overtired and exhausted from waking early and only having an hour nap on the plane and then to have only managed to sleep for 6 hours after we arrived as his body clock hadn't adjusted yet. He managed to have a 3 hour nap while I carried him when we went shopping. And as a consequence of his pneumonia, he started to shows signs of a fever, these all would have triggered a seizure. Perhaps even over simulation from a new and foreign environment and excitement may have contributed as well.

Although this is not the most reassuring circumstance, I am grateful that this happened in a shopping centre and centre staff came and helped us call an ambulance. Luckily, it didn't happen on the plane. 

So far, we are still in hospital and waiting to see whether we can be discharged. A nasal swab was taken for testing yesterday to see which virus he may have. That came back negative and so doctors have confirmed his pneumonia has resulted from aspiration after or during his seizure. "
 
 
As little Ethan is a non-residential patient, hospital charges are excessive and  this stay may cost them up to $10K or even more.

Please donate and help this gorgeous family out if you can with as little or as much as you can spare.

Any donations would mean so much to Lai-wan and Phu,  who are both some how still so thankful and positive despite all they have been through.

Please also keep little Ethan in your thoughts xx