Boy, 2, Dies From Rare Disease With Flu-Like Symptoms, Weeks Before His Birthday

A 2-year-old boy died from a rare disease with flu-like symptoms, just weeks before his third birthday.

On Jan. 8, Hudson Hughie Martin collapsed on the stairs in his family home. He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite paramedics spending over an hour trying to restart his heart.

“They did absolutely everything they could,” the boy’s father, Damien Martin, told Bristol Live. “His heart just wouldn’t come back.”

Hudson was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when he was just 7 months old, according to a GoFundMe created by his aunt, Danielle.

Kawasaki disease causes inflammation in the walls of medium-sized blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body, and most often affects children, per the Mayo Clinic. It also causes swelling in lymph nodes and mucous membranes inside the mouth, nose, eyes and throat.

“He was deteriorating day by day, and pretty much ended up laying in bed, not moving,” dad Damien recalled to Bristol Live of the weeks before Hudson received his diagnosis. “All they were doing was taking blood, doing tests, that’s all they could do.”

Hudson’s mom, Natalie, added, “It took someone coming in and saying, ‘He’s got all the symptoms, why hasn’t he been treated for Kawasaki disease?’ ”

After his diagnosis, Hudson went through two rounds of treatment. And though he began to show improvement in his behavior and symptoms, test results remained a cause for concern.

“His numbers weren’t coming back down to where they should be, and even though he was up showing signs that he was well — he was waking up, he was moving around and he started eating — the doctors every day kept coming in with bad news and saying there was nothing they could do, his numbers aren’t moving,” Damien explained. “They were basically preparing us and saying he was not going to make it.”

When he was finally discharged from the hospital, Danielle said that Hudson was left with a “giant aneurysm” by his heart, and the child spent the next few months taking various medications.

Despite the hardships faced, Hudson’s loved ones said he never let it show.

“You would have never known he was poorly,” his aunt Danielle said. “He was your typical boy. He loved to dance and loved a beat. His three brothers, Kieran, Preston and Ashton, absolutely adore him.”

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“You’d never know anything was wrong from pictures or videos,” dad Damien added. “He bounced off everything. He loved climbing, dancing, music, he was a proper daredevil.”

Mom Natalie also said, “He wanted to do everything himself — he climbed the highest slides, bounced constantly, and had the biggest personality. He was just full of life.”

After their son’s death, Damien and Natalie are now determined to warn other parents about the symptoms of Kawasaki disease.

Explaining that the only way to diagnose the illness is by ruling out other conditions, as there is no test for Kawasaki disease, they told Bristol Live, “People should push for it.”

“If parents can see the symptoms and be aware of what to look for, they can question professionals a little bit ,” the parents added. “It’s rare, and sometimes professionals just don’t know enough about it.”