12-year-old boy dies of heatstroke within seven hours of developing fever, says father
SHAHRIZAL AHMAD ZAINI02 May 2023 01:30pm
Airiel Syahren has been confirmed dead due to ‘septic shock secondary to meningoencephalitis.’
Syahrol Azmi Mohd Hekak, 42, said his second child, Airiel Syahren, 12 was down with a high temperature on Sunday night.
Despite resting in his room, at around midnight, his son started to become delirious.
"At first, I thought it was just a normal fever. I then woke him up and told him to sleep outside (in the living room), maybe the room was too cold. After that, I heard something fall and then I found him (my son), having seizures with his body twitching in the living room.
"I called 999 and was connected to Kluang Hospital (Hospital Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom).
"The hospital asked if my child had a seizure which made me even more panicked and to keep in lying down position, not to give him food or drink, and wait for the ambulance to arrive," he said when met at his house today.
Syahrol Azmi said that while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, his son continued to struggle and eventually soiled himself.
"The condition was too painful. His younger brother also experienced this, but only for a moment or two," he said.
In hospital, one of the doctors, he said called him into his room and gave him an explanation over his son's condition while the other doctors continued to treat his son.
"Seeing my son's condition like that, I could not bear it. In my heart, I said, 'if you want to go, go,' do not torture him like this, his condition does not allow him to continue to suffer," he said.
Hospital Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom (HEBHK), Kluang, in a statement said that Airiel Syahren was confirmed dead due to "septic shock secondary to meningoencephalitis."
The body of the student from Sekolah Kebangsaan Lelaki Bandar Kluang was buried in Tanah Perkuburan Islam Kampung Bentong during lunch hour on Monday.
Another child of Syahrol Azmi, Aidil Syahren, 9, also had a fever last Sunday and is now reported to be stable and was still in hospotal.
Heatstroke causes seizures, internal organ damage like kidneys, lungs and inflammation of the brain.
