A six-year-old New Zealand boy has died in his parents’ arms after suffering from a series of seizures.
Elias Buchanan, from Tauranga, east of Auckland, died on Thursday, two weeks after his parents found him convulsing in his bed.
Kurt and Rebecca Buchanan said they were trying to wake up Elias on December 20 when they noticed something was terribly wrong.
‘I went to wake him and get him out of bed, and he was already having a seizure, so we quickly called the ambulance and he was rushed to Tauranga Hospital,’ the couple said on Givealittle.com.
Elias Buchanan (pictured), six, has died in his parents’ arms after suffering from a series of seizures
After he was rushed to the hospital, Mr and Mrs Buchanan learned their son was suffering from enterovirus and mycoplasma pneumonia.
Elias continued to suffer from multiple seizures once arriving at Auckland Starship Children’s Hospital and was placed in an induced coma.
Despite being administered anti-seizure medication and undergoing surgery to help relieve swelling on his brain, Elias died on January 4.
‘Our hearts are extremely heavy and we are obliviously very sad but we are thankful he is no longer in pain or distress and he passed on peacefully in our arms,’ Mr Buchanan wrote on Facebook.
Pictured is Elias’ funeral service on January 8. Donations from the community helped fund the service
‘We got to spend two weeks singing over him, talking to him, writing him notes, laughing and crying with him and all his family, although a really tough time it was time…and that was really precious.’
A crowd-funding website has been established for the devastated family, so far raising more than $7,500.
The donations helped pay for Elias’ funeral on Monday.