A TODDLER tragically died “out of the blue” just hours after a doctor dismissed his symptoms as a stomach bug.
Hudson Hewitt woke up on the morning of January 18 at around 4.30am and would not stop crying.
The two-year-old tot continued to point at his stomach and was sick soon after.
His mum Shannon Palfrey called 111 when he didn’t improve, and says a doctor diagnosed the tot over the phone with gastroenteritis, saying to keep him hydrated and ring back if he didn’t get better.
But Hudson’s condition worsened and he became unresponsive after going to urgent care a day later.
He was blue-lit to Darlington Memorial where he died despite doctors’ efforts.
Shannon, 26, told the Echo: “It was all such a shock, totally out of the blue.
“We never felt like a family until we had Hudson. He made us us.
“He was full of character, so smiley. He loved farm animals, dinosaurs. He was a typical little boy.
“We haven’t been home. I can’t bring myself to – everything is the way we left it, all his toys are still in the living room.
A pathologist found Hudson died due to a twisted bowel due to a birth defect, which they told Shannon most people born with can survive without issue.
She believes it may have been spotted if he’d had an appointment straight away, and is calling for all under-fives to get an in-person check when parents ring 111 instead of being given a diagnosis over the phone.
“I think if they had seen him on the Saturday and they did his observations something could have shown up,” she added.
A family were left heartbroken after Hudson Hewitt’s death[/caption]
