The parents of a six-year-old girl who nearly lost her life after contracting the flu have broken down in tears revealing the heartbreaking moment they told her she was going to lose her arms and legs.
Mia Wilkinson, from Brisbane, was four years old when she was rushed to hospital in October 2017 after her influenza-like symptoms turned into septic shock, causing the tissue in her hands and feet to die.
Mia’s parents Amy, 40, and Peter, 42, were overwhelmed with emotion when reliving the unthinkable task of telling their daughter her limbs needed to be amputated.
The parents of a six-year-old girl who nearly lost her life to the flu have broken down in tears revealing the heartbreaking moment they told her she was going to lose her arms and legs
‘She was so upset. She said ”I don’t want them to take my hands,”’ Mrs Wilkinson told Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program.
Mrs Wilkinson told her daughter: ‘They can’t save your hands and feet, they can’t make them better.’
The mother-of-three was distraught revealing her daughter’s first question after she was told the devastating news.
‘She said ”How will I play with [older sister] Ellie?”’
Mia Wilkinson (pictured) went into septic shock when she was just four years old after having a rash and flu related symptoms
The tissue in Mia’s arms and legs died and turned black, meaning she would need to have her hands and feet amputated
Mia’s father said he tried to comfort his daughter when she was crying after losing her hands.
‘She said ”I didn’t want them to take my hands”,’ he said.
Mia’s nightmare began when she complained of a simple stomach ache.
After spending the night vomiting, Mia’s parents decided to take her to see a doctor where she was diagnosed with gastro before she was sent home to get some rest.
Upon returning home, Mia became incoherent and wasn’t responding to anything her parents said, prompting them to take her to hospital.
Mia’s parents Peter, (left) and Amy (right) told Sunday Night of the devastating moment they had to tell Mia she would lose her hands and feet
Mia was sent home from hospital twice after doctors said she had a gastro bug and needed some rest in order to get better
She was then diagnosed with Influenza B and Viral Myositis – and was once again sent home to rest.
After another day of unusual behaviour from Mia, Amy discovered she had a purple rash on her legs and immediately rushed her back to hospital.
‘If she wore leggings, I wouldn’t have seen it. That would just be horrible,’ Mrs Wilkinson said as she burst into tears.
Doctors confirmed that sepsis was infecting Mia’s body and they immediately took her into a room, where she was intubated after struggling to breathe.
The Wilkinsons recalled the words no parent should ever have to hear.
‘I hear them (doctors) yelling out ”We’re losing her”. Peter! We’re losing her’, Mrs Wilkinson said.
Mia was sick with a stomach ache before she became incoherent and lethargic, ultimately leading to her suffering from septic shock
Mr Wilkinson said her hands looked like ‘black claws’ and said he and his wife just knew that Mia’s life was about to be changed forever
Mia had experienced septic shock which meant her heart was struggling to pump blood to its vital organs.
As a result Mia’s fingertips and toes were turning black.
‘Her fingertips went dark and black and crept up and crept up,’ Mr Wilkinson said.
‘I can’t describe it,’
Mr Wilkinson said her hands looked like ‘black claws’ and said he and his wife just knew that Mia’s life was about to be changed forever.
Dr Luregn Schlapbach, a sepsis specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital said that after only 40 hours of being in the ICU, Mia was at great risk of losing her limbs.
‘It was 36 to 40 hours into her being in ICU and very sick that we realised that she may be at risk of losing some of the limbs. We were still not sure at that stage if she would survive,’ Dr Schlapbach said.
Mia’s first reaction to losing her hands was how she would play with her sister Ellie (pictured left, also pictured is her brother Max, right)
After having her hands amputated Mia was allowed to go home for Christmas before she would face another inevitable surgery in just days where she would lose her legs.
‘It hurts to know it could have been different. If she had started treatment a day earlier we wouldn’t be talking to you,’ Mr Wilkinson said.
Mia was lucky to survive her traumatic ordeal and now lives a normal life despite having no arms or legs.
Mia’s case has come at a time of one of Australia’s worst flu epidemics after more than 300 Australians died this year from flu related problems.
According to the Australian Department of Health 306 people have died this year.
Mia’s parents urge everyone to get the flu shot and have started a fundraising page to help with the constant medical costs of Mia’s condition.