A nine-month-old British baby is critically ill in a Hong Kong hospital after suffering three cardiac arrests, and his family is urgently appealing for a donated private aircraft flight to bring him home to the UK for NHS care.
Baby Matthew, from Nottinghamshire, travelled to Hong Kong months ago with his mum Sophia Lee and grandmother on what was meant to be a 'joyous' trip to meet extended family. However, the holiday turned into a 'complete nightmare' after he suddenly fell ill with influenza A, which led to three catastrophic cardiac arrests, leaving Matthew critically ill in hospital.
As a last resort to bring him home, Sophia Lee reached out to Lia's Wings, the only UK charity providing hospital air transfers for sick children. Little Matthew spent his first birthday in hospital, while the family and the charity's team exhausted every avenue for repatriation, but due to risks associated with transferring a ventilated baby, all commercial airlines refused.
A 'Complete Nightmare' for the Family
Sophia said in a statement: 'What was meant to be a joyful family trip turned into a complete nightmare.'
'Dad stayed at home because he needed to work. We had tickets there and tickets back, but he suffered an influenza A infection and respiratory issues, which led to cardiac arrest.'
As a result, the youngster's brain went without oxygen for a catastrophic 47 minutes. Lia's Wings is urgently appealing to find a donated private aircraft flight from Hong Kong to the UK.
Urgent Appeal for a Donated Flight
The cost of a private air ambulance flight – up to £200,000 – is beyond what the family or the small charity can afford, Charlotte Young, the chief operating officer of Lia's Wings, said. She said it is a 'big ask' but there was no other way to bring Matthew to be with his family and for NHS tests and treatment.
She told Metro: 'They are a British family who went on a holiday. It was an influenza infection, it wasn't a wild accident. Very quickly their lives changed – they left with a healthy nine-month-old and are coming back with a critically ill one-year-old. They have not done anything crazy and have walked a path a lot of people do. There is really no other option than the private ambulance flight. We don't ask unless it is life or death.'
Unless Matthew is moved to the UK, 'medical decline would happen over a period of time,' she said. Without the repatriation, he risks becoming 'a tragedy, a British baby left somewhere where he wasn't within the reach of help of the community where he belongs to.'
Charity Ready to Deploy Medical Team
The family had insurance, but the small print did not include repatriation. 'The work we do is incredibly complex, and there isn't anyone else who has the remit to support a family like this,' Charlotte added.
Lia's Wings and the family have been working on the case for months behind the scenes, and the charity is ready to deploy a team of two consultants and a paediatric nurse, plus equipment that will adjust a private, long-haul jet suitable for the 'demanding' transfer if someone comes forward. This is the first time the charity has had such a request for help, with the plea extended to the aviation community, with whom Lia's Wings has worked before.
'It is not our everyday medical escort,' Charlotte continued. 'Commercial airlines are very used to adults, but babies bring a whole new level of concern for them. We tried to have that as a first option, because it would have made everything more financially viable, a fifth of the cost, but it is not an option although we tried our hardest.'
At the moment, Matthew is 'incredibly unwell' but stable within his condition, and doctors in Hong Kong and England agreed with the plan to move him.
Demand for urgent medical transfers for children from abroad has skyrocketed over the past year, Lia's Wings said. In the first six months of this year, it has helped more children than last year alone. Over the past 12 months, it has supported 68 children, and more than 300 children and families since launching in 2010.
