In 2016, Jasmine Shortland’s 3-year-old son, Bryan-Andrew, got chicken pox.
But aside from a bit of a sore neck and some swelling, the little boy was fine.
A 23-year-old mother took Bryan-Andrew and his brother Austin to their grandmother’s house one day. She wanted to keep her younger baby, Ivan, safe from any potential infections.
Austin had previously had chickenpox without any complications, so Jasmine assumed that it would be the same for Bryan-Andrew.
She would be gravely mistaken. This time, everything descended into chaos. Now, the mother aims to alert all parents to help prevent this from happening again.
Jasmine and her 21-year-old partner Josh had it all. They were blessed with three lovely children and a bright future waiting for them.
But in 2016 tragedy struck and they went through what no parent ever should.
In August two years ago, son Bryan-Andrew got chicken pox. Nothing particularly serious, as we know.
Jasmine chose to take Bryan Andrew and her older son Austin, who had already contracted the virus, to their grandmother’s house one night to prevent her youngest son Ivan from getting sick as well.
The next morning, Jasmine’s mother found that Bryan-Andrew wouldn’t wake up. Despite her efforts, the grandmother was unable to rouse the young boy.
Paramedics rushed to the scene, but it was too late. Bryan-Andrew was pronounced dead.
To say that Jasmine was shocked would be an understatement.
He was full of energy the night before, running around with joy. He laughed and joked, and now it all feels so confusing. Jasmine told Daily Mail.
The mother clearly remembers the last words her son told her, “I love you”.
The loss was beyond comprehension and impossible to accept. The family struggled to grasp how their son could die so suddenly without any apparent warning signs.
Then, several weeks later, doctors made a horrible and unexpected discovery.
Bryan-Andrew was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of streptococcus A septicaemia, commonly referred to as A strep.
This type of infection can cause blood poisoning (sepsis), at which point an individual can become severely ill.
“No symptoms”
Bryan Andrew contracted the infection by scratching his chicken pox.
He showed no unusual symptoms since it was so rare; he only exhibited typical mumps symptoms. There was no rash or any other signs you would typically expect. Jasmine told Daily Mail.
“His body was so small he couldn’t fight it and it turned into sepsis. It is just weird that there were no symptoms.’
Jasmine’s only comfort was that her son passed away in his sleep and did not feel suffer.
But the nightmare was not over yet.
After the loss of Bryan-Andrew, the grieving mother found out she was ten weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, due to the immense stress she experienced, she had a miscarriage.
She said, “I only realized something was wrong when I started having stomach pain. It was terrible, and I came close to losing my life. I lost 75% of my blood. The nurses told me someone was looking out for me that day, and I knew it was Bryan-Andrew.”
Jasmine aims to increase awareness about the hidden risks of chickenpox and is urging parents to be more cautious.
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