A mother who was fined by a council for a parking violation while rushing her dying son to hospital has spoken out about how doctors repeatedly dismissed her concerns before his death. Keri-Sue McManus, from New York State, took her three-year-old son Micah to the emergency room three times in weeks, and contacted doctors six times, as his health deteriorated with symptoms including lack of appetite, weakness, fatigue and severe dizziness.
Each time, medics reassured her he would get better, with one even suggesting that frequent visits were causing the toddler anxiety. On 30 November 2022, she took him to hospital for the third time, after showing him a cartoon about a tiger cub going to hospital to reassure him. Micah died hours later after clinicians failed to take his condition seriously.
McManus described the experience as 'gaslighting', saying: 'It’s your own child, so you get a feeling or you notice something. You know your child’s normal state better than anybody else.' She added: 'Part of my grief has been trying to wrap my head around how it all happened.'
The family runs an organic farm north of New York City, where Micah loved feeding chickens and picking flowers. McManus was fined by the local council for a parking violation while rushing Micah to hospital, adding to her distress.
Micah's death highlights the danger of medics ignoring parental concerns, particularly mothers, who are frequently patronised and dismissed by the medical profession. McManus said she has relived the moments 'a thousand times', wondering what she could have done differently.
