A mum was left horrified after finding her three-year-old covered in blood after choking on his own tonsils and is now desperate to get him surgery but claims there is an NHS backlog.
Katie Brett, 31, from Thornton-Clevelys, Lancashire, had the fright of her life after discovering her son, Konrad, was struggling to breathe in his cot in March and spotted his abnormally-sized tonsils.
The child had been suffering with bizarre symptoms for two years after initially catching a bug from a family friend in February 2020, which saw his temperature sky-rocket.
Now, poor Konrad’s tonsils are so big he gags and chokes on them, and they also cause him to vomit. Katie, who has taken her son to GPs and AE many times, claims doctors have not booked her child in for the operation due to an NHS backlog.
At her wits’ end and desperate to help her son, she is now fundraising for private treatment. “As a mum, I’m really worried and I’m furious that it is taking so long to get his tonsils removed,” the mum, who is also mum to two-year-old Colton Joe, told Jam Press.
“Konrad was seven months old when he first started to have sleep apnea.
“He still has it now but this started when he was a tiny baby and I didn’t spot his tonsils, it was the hospital after loads of appointments they eventually looked in his mouth and saw the size of them.
“I don’t understand why it is taking so long to arrange a 30-minute procedure that my baby desperately needs.
“His tonsil have become so enlarged that he struggles to breathe and they cause him to gag and be sick.
“They block his airway and I have to check on him constantly through the night, which is an added stress.
“As a mother I feel useless that I can’t fix it for him. It’s my job and I’m failing. “It also makes me angry that those who can help him are not.”
Katie claims the initial delay to the surgery was due to a six-month wait in Covid backlogs in August 2021.
However, she was then allegedly told it would be another 40-week wait due to additional surgery delays. All the while, the mum claims her son’s condition has worsened.
Katie added: “Because I can see it causing him so much pain, I just want his tonsils removed as soon as possible.
“They bleed and his temperature can get so high and his heart races.”
Katie, who feels she has “no other option” is now taking matters into her own hands and has started a fundraiser for Konrad to have his surgery privately.
She added: “My little sister, Sasha, was murdered in 2013 and every year since, we do a fundraising event to raise money in her memory for charity.
“But when organisers found out about Konrad’s condition, they decided to do the fundraising for him instead, saying that it is what she would have wanted.
“I’ve had an initial private treatment appointment at a hospital and been offered a surgery date 18th October but due to complications and risk of bleeding, they are contacting me with a new date, aiming for the end of the month so they can ensure extra safety precautions to ensure it’s the safest it can be for Konrad.
“Konrad just wants to get better, it’s really taking a toll on him.
“He keeps asking me when he is going to get an operation because it hurts so much; what kid asks to have an operation?”
Jam Press contacted Spire hospital and Royal Preston Hospital for comment.
A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spokesperson told Jam Press: “Like Trusts across the country, we are working incredibly hard to reduce the backlog of patients waiting for treatment.
“Waiting times have been adversely affected by the pandemic and we appreciate how frustrating this can be, but it is important to note that urgent cases are always prioritised
“Our Patient Advice and Liaison Service is always happy to explore issues for patients or their families if they have concerns .”
