A much-loved young father has died suddenly, leaving his pregnant partner and two young sons devastated.
Lockie Seddon, 20, from regional Victoria, died on November 24 after contracting a golden staph infection that spread to his brain.
Mr Seddon’s aunt, Danielle Sherer, told Daily Mail Australia it all happened so quickly.
“It started with a small cut on his lip and the GP said it looked like a bite or something,” Ms Sherer said.
The next morning, Mr Seddon and his partner Claire Hoogendoorn knew something was very wrong.
‘Lockie woke up the next day, his eyes were so swollen and bulging out of his head, and he just said to his partner, ‘I’m dying,'” Ms Sherer said.
Mr Seddon was rushed to the local hospital and put into an induced coma.
Unfortunately, the hospital was not equipped to provide the necessary care that the young father’s critical condition required.
Lockie Seddon (pictured) from regional Victoria died on November 24 after contracting a golden staph infection that spread to his brain
‘Claire was simply the love of his life. We’ve been together for six years, for people so young, that’s incredible.’ Mr Seddon and Mrs Hoogendoorn are pictured with their sons Mason (left) and Jax (right)
“Being a small regional hospital, they clearly couldn’t meet all of his needs. They took him straight to Melbourne,” Ms Sherer said.
Mr Seddon was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and “never woke up.”
His sudden death has shocked the close-knit family.
“One day he was healthy, right? There was a little thing on his lip, and the next day that was it,” Ms. Sherer said.
Mr Seddon’s untimely death has left even medical experts shocked.
“The ICU specialist who cared for Lockie said he has never seen a golden staph infection do this,” Ms Sherer said.
Mr. Seddon’s wife wonders if she could have done anything to prevent his death.
“When we talked to the specialists, I said to them, ‘Was there a way to find out?'” Ms. Sherer said.
‘Claire was really worried that she had missed something and that it was her fault.’
The response helped Ms. Hoogendoorn ease her feelings of guilt.
“They said no one could know, and no one could do anything,” Ms. Sherer said.
“I think that’s a little bit bittersweet for Claire to hear, but it’s also, I think, what makes it so much harder for everyone to really think about it.”
Ms Sherer revealed that Mr Seddon’s family, including Ms Hoogendoorn, sons Mason and Jax, his mother Tam, father and brother and best friend Tyler, are understandably distraught and shattered by his sudden death.
Mr. Seddon was the beloved father of two young boys, Jax (left) and Mason (right)
‘They’re just very stressed. Claire also has the two little boys she is trying to help through this process.”
Ms Sherer said Ms Hoogendoorn and Mr Seddon were a perfect couple.
‘Claire was simply the love of his life. We’ve been together for six years, for people so young, that’s incredible.’
Mr. Seddon’s death is even more tragic because Mrs. Hoogendoorn is pregnant with a girl who will never meet her father.
‘Claire finally has a daughter on the way, she is fifteen weeks pregnant with their daughter.’
She said Mr Seddon was ‘respectful, loyal and a real mama’s boy’.
“Poor mother got calls from him at least fifty times a day!” she said.
Ms Sherer said Mr Seddon’s mother is devastated.
“No one ever expects to have to pay for or organize a funeral for their 20-year-old, healthy child.”
Ms Sherer said Mr Seddon was ‘a real character’ and ‘bold and opinionated’.
“I have photos that just drive me crazy.”
‘Every interaction I had with him, everyone asked me, “How would I describe him?”
“I’d just say, ‘a cheeky little sh*t!’ she said.
“Just the cheekiest smile and in every conversation he had he always had something smart to say.”
Mrs. Sherer has one GoFundMe to pay for Mr Seddon’s funeral and the remaining money will go towards the children’s future.
She said she wants to “give Lockie the funeral and send-off he deserves, and hopefully raise money to help his family.”
“And if we reach our goal, and we have anything left, I would actually like to put it into some kind of trust fund for his children,” she said.
“Lockie leaves behind many broken hearts, but also great memories.”