2 days ago
EXCLUSIVE British toddler had to fight for his life after illness on US holiday left him looking 'like a skeleton' - as terrified parents face £73,000 hospital bill despite having travel insurance
A British couple were hit with a £73,000 hospital bill after their toddler son collapsed on holiday - despite having travel insurance.
Ayesha and Melissa Jevins, from Warrington, Cheshire, were visiting family in Florida when their one-year-old son Dylan was rushed to A&E with a mystery illness that left him 'skeletal'.
They initially thought Dylan had picked up a stomach bug from the swimming pool after he began vomiting and lost his appetite.
By the end of the weekend, Dylan was visibly thinner, dangerously dehydrated, and struggling to breathe.
Doctors at a hospital in Orlando found his blood sugar levels were critically high and diagnosed him with type 1 diabetes - adding it was the most severe case they'd seen in a child so young.
Ayesha said Dylan's care had been costing around £7,500 a day, with the total bill expected to reach up to £120,000 - only around £40,000 of which is likely to be covered by insurance.
A relative has launched a GoFundMe page to help the couple cover the shortfall, which includes hospital transfers and several days of intensive care.
'That's just the insurance we ended up buying,' Ayesha said. 'I don't think you expect to need much more. In my head you think £40,000 is a lot of money.
'We obviously didn't know of any medical issues so it was more to just cover him if he got a little bit ill. I don't think we ever expected to actually have a full-on hospital admittance.
'I'd warn people to double check their insurance and be careful of what the price cap is before they go away, just to be safe.'
Ayesha said the shift in Dylan's condition came fast - and was terrifying to witness.
'On Monday he just went downhill fast and he went from being himself to being lethargic,' she said.
'He couldn't keep anything more than an ounce down before he immediately vomited it back up.'
She said it was a change in his breathing that finally made them seek emergency help.
'It got to the point where he was panting like he couldn't breathe, but that was his own body trying to get rid of the acid and carbon dioxide in his system that he wasn't able to get rid of naturally. That was horrific to witness.'
By the time they reached hospital, Dylan was in a critical condition.
'By the time he got to the hospital he was just a skeleton,' Ayesha said. 'He had no meat on him and he had no water in him.'
Doctors placed him on an IV drip and diagnosed diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. His blood sugars are now being checked six times a day.
'I was really shocked and it was really scary when he first went into hospital,' Ayesha said.
'[Doctors] said he was in critical condition. It was the youngest person they'd ever seen with it.
'If we hadn't taken him to the hospital the next step would've been to go into a coma and then if that hadn't have been treated he would've died.
'What was really hard for us is we may have taken him sooner in England because there's not the same financial pressures. It's so unlucky it happened now.'
The family are planning to return to the UK on June 10, where they'll meet with NHS specialists to manage Dylan's condition long-term.
'It's been really hard for us,' Ayesha said. 'We're really lucky we have family that have been able to help us. If we'd been on our own, I don't know how we would've coped.
'I'd do it any day because it's my son's life. It's worth more than any amount of money.
'The help means a lot and the sense of community from people donating to the fundraiser, and just to be able to know that we've got people supporting us.
'It definitely wasn't what we expected. If you notice something, even if it's the smallest thing, just go and get it checked.
'But also, if you don't notice it and it does get to this stage, it's not your fault. It's not something you expect it to be.'
