When Kami Leatherbarrow treated her little brother Rhys to chicken and chips to cheer up him after he came down with a runny nose, she had no idea that that that meal would be his last.
Just 36 hours after tucking into his favourite meal, Rhys died of multi-organ failure brought on by sepsis - just two days before Christmas Day.
“We’re still waiting for him to come out from behind his bedroom door,” Kami, 31, told the Manchester Evening News. “He would always come out and wind me up.
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“Now you’re looking around thinking, ‘There’s no noise and there should be,’ even down to the middle of the night when I could hear him listening to his Alexa or creeping around.”
Rhys, from Golborne, Wigan, was just 28 when he died in hospital on December 23. His cause of death was found to be multi-organ failure caused by pneumonia and two cardiac arrests. Kami can recall the moment she found him in his bedroom. Rhys, who had autism and was registered blind, was due to attend his adult service programme when he began feeling unwell.
“He got up and was all happy and giggly and told us his plans for the day,” Kami continued. “He was causing mischief and he was healthy, fit and well. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
“He came home and complained of a headache and sniffly nose. We gave him two paracetamols and said he could stay home from adult services which he was happy about.
“The next day, after I gave him some chicken and chips, I saw his bedroom door was open. I thought, ‘He’s eaten that quick’. I went in and he collapsed on me, I shouted my friend and I literally had to drag him to his bed so I could get him in a safe position.”
Emergency services were called and Rhys was rushed to hospital. Within the first two hours of his arrival, he suffered two cardiac arrests and was placed onto life support. Sadly, his condition only deteriorated from there. Rhys’ family, including Kami, mum Janis and dad John, were called and asked to make their way to his bedside.
Tragically, the sepsis was causing Rhys’ organs to shut down. There was nothing more doctors could do other than make him feel comfortable. They took us into the family room and spoke to us and said all his organs were shutting down,” Kami said. “Within six hours, he passed. It was so sudden but so shocking at the same time.
“We weren’t expecting it. We only thought he was going to hospital to get some antibiotics. [Janis and John] are broken – they can’t put it into words.
“This was a shock to myself and his mum, dad and other family members and friends. Rhys was a happy, loving young man. He loved being around people and making them laugh – most of all getting his sister into trouble.”
Described as “cheeky, mischievous and witty,” Rhys loved going to the cinema, watching plays at the theatre and was a big fan of Disney – particularly the character Tinkerbell.
Kami said: "Rhys’ time of year was Christmas. So this year we felt like it wasn’t a celebration. Next year, we’re going to make it a celebration.
“He has a snowman with a countdown to Christmas on it and to this day it says the 23rd. It’s not getting changed because he changed it himself that day and we’re going to keep it at that all year round because it’s a bit of Rhys.
“He touched a big part of everyone’s lives. I couldn’t fault the hospital at all; they accepted all of his needs and understood everything. He got every bit of care he could have.
“It was a very sudden and quick loss. From falling ill to passing, it was less than 36 hours. We are literally in a daze.”
Rhys’ funeral was held at St. Thomas Church in Golborne on Wednesday (January 11). A Gofundme fundraiser has been set up to help the family pay for the costs.
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