Antonio Galisi-Swallow died at Leeds’ Children’s Hospital after undergoing surgery – his parents said they asked doctors to stop as they tried to resusciate him
The parents of a boy who tragically died at the age of 15 after undergoing heart surgery said they asked doctors to “stop” as they tried to resuscitate him.
Antonio Galisi-Swallow underwent surgery for pulmonary valve replacement in September 2021. The boy, who had Down’s syndrome, autism and ADHD, had suffered from tetralogy of fallot – a group of four structural abnormalities within the heart that occur together – since he was born. Today, an inquest at Wakefield Coroner’s Court heard Antonio had already undergone open heart surgery in 2006.
However, while recovering in the paediatric intensive care unit at Leeds’ Children’s Hospital after his 2021 operation, Antonio had a high temperature and low blood pressure. His condition continued to deteriorate until his death on October 7, 2021.
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As reported by Yorkshire Live, Antonio’s mother, Melina Galisi, prepared a poem for the court in which she said: “He was my son, my heart, my home. He was born on the 29th of October, 2005 and came into the world carrying a fragility and strength and from the beginning taught me strength.
“At home he was calm and content. The world outside could be overwhelming but in the safety of our home he found peace and so did I. He loved calm breakfasts, lunches and unrushed baths every night and the flow of his iPad.
“He loved the cinema – the place where stories came alive and for a while every thing was as it should be. He was intuitive, sensitive and we were deeply connected and we spoke in ways beyond words. He could feel my love and I his.
“He’s no longer here. His presence fills every quiet moment. He would have been 20-years-old. My son, my lovely son, you’re missed beyond measure and loved beyond time.”
In her statement for the court, Ms Galisi outlined the background to Antonio’s surgery, explaining it was originally due to take place in early 2021 but was moved to September of the same year as she wanted him to have his Covid-19 vaccine which he was entitled to at that stage. She said earlier appointments at the hospital had raised concerns.
She said she had spoken to the hospital’s psychology and learning disability team where she said it was agreed Antonio would have a private room, his canula removed before he woke up after surgery, and liquid medication. She said Antonio’s school had made a timetable for him and a passport had been created so that staff could use it to keep him calm. Ms Galisi said they attended in April 2021 and was “told there were no beds available.”
She said in her statement: “There were no private rooms and not even any space for him on the ward. I gave the passport to a member of staff who barely looked at it before giving it back to me. He started having a meltdown and started to break things in the room. A doctor came to the room to take his blood with a huge syringe and I said no way would he allow them to take blood that way. Nothing had been put in place for him.
“I said that if there was no private room for him we are not going to get anything done that day and we should rearrange when I was not on my own and a nurse said, ‘Yes it’s chaotic.'”
Ms Galisi said it was planned that after the surgery, Antonio would be placed in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) but she had asked for him to be put into a private room as she was worried that he could contract some illness from other patients, as he was vulnerable due to his Down’s syndrome. However, Ms Galisi said she “wasn’t told of any concerns” – but shortly after her son started to deteriorate and developed a raised temperature, which reached 42C.
Ms Galisi said: “Over the course of that day it was clear to me the doctors were concerned about that. They said they suspected he had an infection. He remained on the ward despite concerns.” She added Antonio was given a different course of antibiotics a day later and she also noticed a rash on his chest. Ms Galisi also said his temperature continued to rise – and claimed the area around his bed was left in “a mess”.
She claimed that the nurse “had mentioned she wasn’t comfortable caring for him”, adding: “The level of nursing care added to my worried for his wellbeing.” Ms Galisi said in her statement Antonio’s body started to reject milk given to him through a feeding tube, which she said indicated his liver was not functioning properly. She added that measures, including a cooling mattress, did not cause Antonio’s temperature to decrease.
She said on October 6, she noticed Antonio’s hands and feet were “puffed up” and “liquid was oozing from his eyes and mouth.” Ms Galisi said: “There was blood on his bedsheets.” She added she felt doctors were “keeping him alive for scientific insight.”
He was then taken to a CT scan and dialysis against her wishes, Ms Galisi said, even though the court heard doctors had asked Antonio’s father for consent for the scan. The mum said the next day, she was in the family room when a nurse told her Antonio’s heart had “stopped”.
She said: “I shouted not to resuscitate and rushed to PICU where I saw them trying to. His father asked them to stop, which they eventually did. He died in front of everybody in the ward, with no privacy, naked, bleeding and pierced with the tubes. The details of how he died will haunt me forever…My son and soulmate, my life.”
Mr Swallow added: “He didn’t die in great circumstances. We knew he was wasn’t going to survive, we just wanted him to die with a bit of dignity. They tied to resuscitate him even when we asked them to let him go. He had 13 of those infusion things going into him. He wasn’t going to survive. Enough was enough.”
Dr Imran Kassai, a consultant at Leeds General Infirmary, gave evidence to the court in a statement, in which he said it was going to be possible for Antonio to be taken off ventilation and sedation the day after his surgery, “without complication.”
In his evidence to the court, Dr Ramesh Kumar, who performed Antonio’s operation, said he saw him twice following his surgery while he was on the PICU. He said the teen’s condition left him “quite surprised” after he was sedated with propofol as staff were “trying to identify a point where it would be safe to take him off it.”
The inquest continues.
