Parents seek donations for S$191000 hospital bill after son, 9, got Covid-related myocarditis, stopping his heart – TODAY

Welling up with emotion, the couple recounted how Matt went into cardiac arrest as his heart stopped during intubation.

Medical personnel took about an hour to revive him, in what felt like an eternity for the terrified couple.

Mr Semodio, an information technology support staff,sighed and said: I dont think there is just one adjective or correct adjective for how I felt. I was devastated, in denial and more scared than anything in my life. It was a mix of emotions that made up the most difficult time in my life.

His wife, who also works in IT,said: It was always panic mode for us.

As the boy was brought back from the brink, he was put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (Ecmo), which pumps and oxygenates a patients blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.

The day after Matt was put on Ecmo, the couple said that doctors did several viral and bacterial tests, and found out that Matt had contracted Covid-19, which led to myocarditis.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that reduces the hearts ability to pump blood, resulting in chest pain, shortness of breath, and rapid or irregular heart rhythms. Viral infections are one of the common causes.

Recalling the moment she heard the diagnosis, Ms Reyes said: We didnt know because everybody tested negative before we returned to Singapore.

She added that before this, Matt was a completely healthy boy with no heart conditions or lung problems.

Mr Semodio said that a decision was made not to have Matt vaccinated when Covid-19 vaccines were made available for children because it was not really required for him at his age, and they were worried about the side effects.

Hes very small-sized for a nine-year-old, so we were worried about how it might impact him. Hes often being treated as a six-year-old, in terms of dosage and everything else, because of his small frame, Mr Semodio said.

In addition to their worries about the myocarditis diagnosis and seeing their son hooked up to the Ecmo machine, the couple also learnt that Matt had suffered a mild stroke affecting his left side.

They were told that the Ecmo process had side effects, which included the formation of blood clots that reached his brain at some point during the 11 days that he was hooked up to the machine.

The boy was in the intensive care unit from Jan 5 to 24 before he was moved to a high-dependency ward, which offers closer monitoring than a general ward.

Mr Semodio recalled that when Matt woke up, he told the boy, "Hi, welcome back, before the two of them prayed. The family are Catholics and have been living in Singapore since 2006 as Ms Reyes is a permanent resident.

Ms Reyes said that her sons first words to them were: Hold my hand.

Even though their boy was out of intensive care, the couple remained very concerned because their sons heart was still not able to function normally.

If I see him just look a bit lethargic, I would get scared but then I would remind myself that the worst is over because his heart is beating on its own again, Mr Semodio said.

TODAY interviewed the couple a few weeks after Matts hospitalisation and they said that his recovery has been progressing. They can see a return of traces of their dinosaur- and anime-loving boy.

He can go to the toilet and do the exercises he picked up in physiotherapy. He also started slowly regaining his skills after the mild stroke, and is playing games on his laptop now, Mr Semodio said.

Despite the improvement, the couple still have moments of despair.

Its been mentally excruciating as a father to see my son like this. Even though he is getting better, its difficult to control the mind, Mr Semodio added.

Since Matt was discharged from the hospital on Feb 8, he has returned twice after vomiting blood, likely a side-effect of his medication.

I would be happy and then when something happens like this, I will get shaken easily. It is really difficult.

"Sometimes I would second-guess myself and get lost in my thoughts, and sometimes I would just stare at nothing, Mr Semodio added.

For her part, Ms Reyes said that she still feels "trauma" over the ordeal.

Every time we try to sleep, we dont know if Matt is going to feel better. I still cant sleep well and I have to check on him every once in a while, so the fear is still there.

On top of such anxiety, the couple have to confront the financial aspect of this ordeal, which has taken a toll on the two full-time working parents who have had to take unpaid leave to care for their son.

It did not help that they were only able to use MediSave and Mr Semodios insurance to pay for about S$143,950 of their sons estimated S$335,000 medical bill. They are still left to find about S$191,000 out of their own pocket.

The hospital has agreed in principle to their request to pay the bill in instalments, but it is still a really huge sum, Mr Semodio said.

That was why when their family friend initiated an online fundraiser through fundraising platform GiveAsia for the family, they could not be more grateful.

She talked to us and told us that she could do this for us and any form of help is good. Whatever comes in is good, and will help us to pay Matts bills moving forward, Mr Semodio said.

The fundraiser started on Jan 28 and as of Saturday (Feb 24), it has garnered about S$35,000 in donations.

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Parents seek donations for S$191000 hospital bill after son, 9, got Covid-related myocarditis, stopping his heart - TODAY