Toddler dies on dream trip to Disneyland after contracting Covid as his heartbroken parents wonder why doctors didn’t give him preventative treatment for another common virus
- Toddler Dylan Findlay died just hours after landing in France with his family
A toddler died on a dream family vacation to Disneyland Paris after becoming infected with Covid and another common virus.
Dylan Findlay died just hours after landing in France with big brother Niall and parents Alison and Robert.
A post-mortem examination revealed that the 22-month-old baby had Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common virus that usually causes mild cold symptoms.
Mr and Mrs Findlay of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire confirmed that Dylan had been refused preventative treatment for RSV by doctors.
Mrs. Findlay said, “We’ll never know what difference that might have made to him.”
Dylan Findlay (pictured) died hours after landing in France with big brother Niall and parents Alison and Robert
Dylan Findlay’s parents paid tribute to their son who died while on holiday to Disneyland Paris. Alison and Robert Findlay were vacationing with Dylan’s older brother Niall
Dylan was allowed to go on holiday for the first time in March after being treated for a condition that affects one in 5,000 children. He was born six and a half weeks premature in May 2021 and spent three months in hospital with a tracheoesophageal fistula, meaning he was dependent on a feeding tube.
However, his condition had been stable for the past year and he enjoyed playing with brother Niall, four, so the couple got doctors’ clearance to plan a trip to Disneyland Paris.
But on the day they arrived, he started vomiting and as his condition worsened, his parents called an ambulance and paid for a GP to come to the hotel.
Dylan lost consciousness and died despite the doctor and Mrs. Findlay performing CPR and paramedics using a defibrillator.
Although an autopsy showed he had RSV and Covid, he showed no obvious symptoms.
Ms Findlay paid tribute to their ‘wee warrior’ after well-wishers donated more than £2,000 worth of toys to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to mark what would have been Dylan’s second birthday this month.
Mrs Findlay said: ‘Just because his life was short doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good life. Dylan was happy, sassy, always smiling.
“We are just heartbroken to think he is no longer with us.” Her husband added, “We may only have had Dylan with us for a short time, but he brought so much love into our lives. We are grateful for that.’
Dylan lost consciousness and died despite the doctor and Mrs. Findlay performing CPR and paramedics using a defibrillator. Pictured: Disneyland Paris (File Image)
The family also questions whether Dylan would have benefited from a preventative antibody treatment for RSV, which he received the previous winter.
Unlike Covid, there is no vaccine for RSV, but high-risk young people can receive the drug palivizumab, administered in several monthly injections. Ms Findlay said: ‘Dylan contracted RSV last winter and had he not been on the preventative medication it could have been a lot worse.
“Then he didn’t get it this winter, he didn’t fall into the eligibility guidelines and obviously it’s been a lot worse.
“I think things would have been different, but we can’t say for sure. He had no signs of being sick, so we didn’t know.
“But he wasn’t vulnerable enough to have the RSV antibody. It is expensive.’
Mr Findlay, who works at the University of Aberdeen, added: ‘We want to stress that it had nothing to do with the condition he was born with, it was unrelated and was something that could have happened to any little one . He contracted RSV and Covid and that’s what the initial autopsy showed was likely the cause of death.”
NHS Grampian follows National Institute for Healthcare and Excellence guidelines for the use of palivizumab. It states that it must be prescribed ‘under specialist supervision and on the basis of the likelihood of hospitalisation’.