‘Thank God he won’t remember it’

A Cork father has described the terrifying moment he learned that both of his infant sons were in hospital but in two different counties.

Kevin Minihan and his wife Sharon were racing to Dublin to be with their sick 2 month old son Zac when they received a call saying their other son Leo (16 months) had been admitted to CUH with the same symptoms as his brother.

Both boys had contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare but serious infection that affects the kidneys and blood clotting functions. Zac had been admitted to CUH the previous day, but doctors were unable to diagnose him and decided he should be transferred to the ICU at Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin. Zac’s parents initially thought he had just picked up a bug but decided to take action when he became violently ill at feeding time.

“We just thought it was a bit of a bug because it was going around,” Zac’s father Kevin told the Cork Independent.

“But then on the Sunday evening we gave Zac his bottle and he just projectile vomited it up, it was like something out of a movie,” he added.

Zac was first brought to SouthDoc where his parents were advised that he should go straight to CUH due to his young age. By lunchtime the following day, he was enroute to Dublin in a specialised ambulance.

“What he got is very, very rare at his age. Thank God he won't remember it,” continued Kevin.

“I was kind of in denial about it. I said, 'wait now a second, we've gone from having an unwell child to all of a sudden, we're going to the ICU in Temple Street. How is this happening?’.

“I nearly fell off the chair. I couldn't accept it because he was awake and to me, he was okay.”

As Kevin and Sharon were not able to accompany Zac in the ambulance, they made their own way to Dublin, leaving Zac’s brother Leo with his aunt who is a nurse.

When they were almost in Dublin city, Zac’s aunt called and told them Leo was also feeling unwell and that she was going to bring him to CUH.

Kevin said he remembers feeling torn between his two sons and having to make a decision that no parent should face. Luckily, Leo was not as ill as Zac and because he was older, he was able to fight the infection more easily.

“Now we have two kids in hospital in two different counties. You want to be in two places at once, but you can't,” said Kevin.

“We knew we had to focus on Zac because he was younger and more sick.”

Zac was diagnosed within a few hours of arriving in Temple Street and was placed on a ventilator and dialysis as his kidneys were beginning to shut down.

“Horrible. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It's something that we'll never get out of our heads,” said Kevin.

Zac spent 3 weeks at Temple Street overall, during which time he and his parents made life-long friends with the staff there. Leo spent 9 days at CUH before returning home.

During his stay, Zac got to meet some of the Dublin Senior Football team who let him sit in the Sam Maguire Cup.

To show their gratitude, Zac’s parents started a GoFundMe campaign earlier this month to raise funds for Temple Street Children’s hospital so that other families can receive the same support they did.

So far, the page has raised over €7,500 after starting out with a €1,000 target.

Kevin said: “You really don't understand how good these people are until you're there. These people, it's not a job for them, they are so invested. When Zac started to get better, they'd all come in and cheer and clap.

“You couldn't raise enough money for this place.”

Zac and Leo are both doing well now but must return to Temple Street yearly until they are 16 for check-ups.

To donate to the GoFundMe campaign, visit gofundme.com and search "Temple Street Hospital ICU".