THE family of Lucius Corry, who passed away suddenly in August aged just five, have raised more than £8,000 for two local charities, with the hope that their final total will eventually reach £10,000.
Lucius, from the Market area of South Belfast, suffered a cardiac arrest after becoming unwell on a trip to Funtasia in Drogheda this summer.
The money raised will go to the charities Kids Together and Families with Ups and Downs.
Lucius' mother Joanne described her son as the “funniest, happiest child you would ever meet".
“Everybody who met him fell in love with him and he was no trouble,” she said.
“That morning he got up and he had a bit of a bug. We weren’t going to take him, but we had our granddaughter staying over and we promised her that we would go so I asked if he wanted to go on the bus and he said 'Yep.' Lucius didn’t have much speech but his understanding was great.
“He got bugs all the time so we thought nothing of it and took him down. When we got there he didn’t want to play so we took him on a walk round while the granddaughter was in the swimmers.
“He vomited and wouldn’t eat. When we got home, we phoned the out-of-hours doctor and told them how he was. By this stage I was giving him Nurofen and syringing water into him because he wasn’t drinking.
“They rang me back at 10.30 and told me I was doing everything right. He was rolling the floors all night and at three o’clock we decided to take him out in the car because that would normally put him to sleep.
“We got back and put him to bed. Then he pointed to his groin area and said 'Ouch.' I thought then that he might have had a urine infection.
“We decided to bring him to the hospital and while we were getting ready his nose started to bleed. I went to get his slippers and as he sat he started to drift out of consciousness and his lips started to turn blue.
“John lifted him and put him in the car. We drove up to the Royal while we were on the phone to the ambulance. By the time we got to Broadway he was still a bit responsive.
“I pulled up to the Emergency Department, flashed the lights and bumped the horn. A doctor came running out because he knew that something was wrong and then John carried Lucius straight through, but it was too late.”
Lucius was born with two holes in his heart, but one healed itself as he grew. Joanne told us that they know he died from a cardiac arrest, but they are unsure as to what caused it. After his death, they were told that he had suspected sepsis and inflammation of the heart.
The family are awaiting the results of a Coroner’s report.
Speaking of how Lucius’ death has impacted upon their family, Joanne said that Lucius was John’s only son but that she had three children from a previous relationship who are all devastated by his loss.
She said that the local community, Kids Together and Families with Ups and Downs have all been a great support in their time of need.
“Kids Together were brilliant even when Lucius was alive. He had been going there since he was two and he loved them all. When there he came on leaps and bounds. He started walking and his attitude changed.
“Families with Ups and Downs have also been there for us from the very start. We didn’t know that Lucius had Down's Syndrome until he was born and didn’t know what to expect.
“My friend put me in contact with them and now I am best friends with one of the other girls who attends it. They have been a great support and anything we have needed, they have been there at the drop of a hat.”
The family held a fundraiser in the Balmoral Hotel on Saturday to raise money for the projects and had a surprise visit from local comedian Paddy Raff.
A number of items including signed boxing gloves and a signed Manchester United shirt have still to be raffled. For more information, visit the Lucius’ memorial fundraising raffle page on Facebook.
