Just in time for Taj

When Katie Kay saw a bruise-like rash spreading across her son Taj’s chest and abdomen, she immediately linked it with the temperature that he had been up with through the night. She felt sick. The eight month old was rushed to the local doctor, who recognised the rash immediately as meningococcal, urging Katie to take her son straight to hospital.

The spots that Taj presented with were unlike the rash commonly associated with the virus, however the doctor’s keen diagnosis gave the toddler and his family the best possible head start on seeking treatment.

Within an hour of first noticing the rash, Taj’s condition deteriorated rapidly. At Shoalhaven Hospital, doctors tried for two and a half hours to insert a cannula into his little body, but already Taj’s veins had begun to shut down as a result of the violent infection, making this seemingly simple task impossible for medical staff to carry out.

He was rushed to theatre so that a cannula could be inserted. He was intubated, ventilated and placed in a medically induced coma. Doctors believed that Taj had meningitis and needed to be transported to Sydney for treatment.

Telstra Child Flight flew to the critically ill toddler’s aid. It took the NETS crew nearly four hours to stabilise him before he could be transported to the paediatric intensive care treatment that would save his life. Taj was transported to Westmead Children’s Hospital, where he remained in a coma for two days. He was diagnosed with meningitis meningococcal scepticaemia. Taj was hospitalised for six days, as he recovered from the potentially deadly illness.

Since recovering from his ordeal, Taj is a happy healthy one year old, with no resulting complications or medical issues.

“Doctors told us that if Taj had received treatment just one hour later, we may not have him today. Thank you so much Telstra Child Flight you did an amazing job”, Katie said.