A teenage boy has died of appendicitis after twice being wrongly diagnosed by his doctors as suffering from a minor condition.
Luca Raso was told he had viral gastroenteritis in February this year after falling ill. He made two trips to the doctors in two days and both times was given the same answers.
Seven days after the first symptoms started, the 13-year-old was dead. His mother is now seeking a formal coronial inquest into Luca’s death.
‘I just kept saying ‘he’s just got gastro, he’s just got gastro. We live in Australia. People don’t die from gastro,’ Michelle Degenhardt told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Luca Raso (left) was told he had viral gastroenteritis in February this year after falling ill. His mother, Michelle Degenhardt (right) wants a formal coronial inquest into his death
Ms Degenhardt first noticed Luca’s declining health when he threw up after dinner on Monday, February 20. Two days later his condition had not improved, so she took him to a GP in the Port Stephens region.
He was diagnosed with gastro, but over the next 24 hours Luca continued to decline, so his mother took him back to the same doctor on Thursday, February 24.
They were again told he had gastro.
‘He kept saying ‘mummy, my tummy hurts’. He looked so sick and he was very lethargic. He wasn’t at all well,’ Ms Degenhardt said.
Luca’s condition then became so bad he was unable to stand. On Monday, February 27, his health rapidly declined.
Luca Raso died aged 13 after being wrongly diagnosed with gastro instead of appendicitis
He was vomiting a brown, syrupy liquid, his physical appearance had changed and he needed the help of his brother just to get to the bathroom.
Ms Degenhardt called a medical centre but was told they would have to wait until the afternoon to be seen. She dismissed this, told Luca to go to the toilet and they would leave immediately.
‘While I was on the phone I heard him fall at the toilet and start groaning,’ she said.
When he found Luca he was on the floor with his eyes rolled into the back of his head and teeth clenched. His heart had stopped.
Luca’s mother and brother performed CPR on him until emergency services could arrive. He was transported to a local hospital, then moved to a larger facility as they were struggling to keep him alive.
He died in the ambulance on the way to the larger hospital.
Luca’s mother and brother performed CPR on him until emergency services could arrive. He was transported to a local hospital, then moved to a larger facility as they were struggling to keep him alive. He died in the ambulance on the way to the larger hospital
The next day the family were told it wasn’t gastro that Luca died from, it was a gangrenous appendix caused by appendicitis.
‘It was like I was suspended in time. I could hear people speaking but I couldn’t take it in. I was hysterical. A mess. I couldn’t understand what was happening,’ Ms Degenhardt said.
‘My son died of a completely preventable condition.’
She is now seeking a formal coronial inquest into Luca’s death after the case was referred to a local magistrate. She wants this to act as a warning to parents who believe their child has been wrongly diagnosed and is encouraging people to trust their instincts.
‘I’m told like some neurotic mother that he has gastro. It wasn’t gastro and now my boy is gone.’