A 14-year-old boy suffering severe headaches and a fever was turned away by doctors on two occasions before it was eventually discovered he had meningitis and an abscess on his brain.
Hunter Peterson, from Wauchope in Port Macquarie’s southwest, spent the eve of his 14th birthday on an operating table as doctors worked desperately to reduce the swelling on his brain after another life-saving procedure went awry.
He awoke on the morning of his birthday in ICU with half of his skull missing.
Family friend Sonia O’Bree-Smith told Daily Mail Australia that before Hunter and his family were plunged into this nightmare he was just a ‘normal teenage boy’.
‘He’s a happy, healthy, funny kid,’ she said.
‘He’s got a great sense of humour. He loves basketball, he’s very kind, bubbly and outgoing.’
Hunter, who has a younger brother and sister, had been enjoying the school holidays before he came down with a temperature and a migraine on 17 July.
Hunter Peterson (pictured, right) was a ‘healthy and happy’ 14-year-old when he started experiencing migraines and a fever. Within a week surgeons would have to remove almost half his brain
The teenager faces a long road to recovery and has to wear a helmet to protect the ‘soft’ section of his head where his skull as removed
His grandmother took him to Kempsey Hospital where he was diagnosed with a viral infection and sent home without any antibiotics.
Hunter’s condition worsened and so his father took him back to the hospital later that night but doctors sent him home with the same diagnosis.
‘He was suffering from sinus issue, much like a cold, and when he presented at the hospital but unfortunately the sinus infection wasn’t picked up,’ Ms O’Bree-Smith said.
Three days later, on Saturday 20 July, his mother noticed his condition had deteriorated.
‘He just wasn’t his normal self, he he didn’t want to eat and he was not very chatty,’ close family friend Ms O’Bree-Smith said.
Hunter, who has a younger brother and sister, had been enjoying the school holidays before he came down with a temperature and a migraine on 17 July
He was eventually diagnosed with meningitis from sinusitis and was flown to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle where he had surgery to drain the abscess in his sinus cavity
‘He became what his mum described as delirious and he had continued to complain of headaches and migraines and he had an ongoing fever.
‘And then, while checking on him, she noticed that his lips were starting to turn blue and she just went, “Let’s get in the car, we are going to the hospital now”.’
‘They had pretty much just pulled up out the front of the hospital when Hunter started to have a seizure and he vomited.’
Doctors were horrified to discover he had a temperature of 42 degrees and an ambulance was called to rush him to Port Macquarie Base Hospital.
There he underwent a CT scan, blood tests and a spinal tap with doctors discovering he had an abscess on his brain and in his sinus cavity.
He was diagnosed with meningitis from sinusitis and was flown to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle where he had surgery to drain the abscess in his sinus cavity.
At that stage, medics hoped that the abscess in his brain would respond to antibiotics.
He suffered issues with his IV lines so doctors decided to insert at peripherally inserted central catheter to circumvent any blockages.
But the procedure was delayed several times, meaning he went without food for 36 hours.
‘Naturally this took a severe emotional toll on our little mate, when he was already in a very delicate state,’ Ms O’Bree-Smith said.
Hunter spent the eve of his 14th birthday on an operating table as doctors worked desperately to reduce the swelling on his brain after another life-saving procedure went awry
He awoke on his 14th birthday to the news that a large section of his skull had been removed. While he is talking he has nerve damage in his right eye and will need to learn to walk again
The surgery left him unresponsive with no movement on his left side and a scan showed there was inflammation on his brain.
That is when doctors made the decision to remove a large part of his skull.
‘Hunter woke on his 14th Birthday with a large part of his skull removed, a drain in his skull and his right eye not opening due to nerve damage,’ Ms O’Bree-Smith explained.
‘The extent of the nerve damage is at the moment unknown, and only time will tell whether or not he will have use of that eyelid.’
The teenager faces a long road to recovery and is being helped by a team of specialists, including a speech therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, and psychologist.
Hunter was described as a ‘normal teenage boy’. ‘He’s a happy, healthy, funny kid,’ close family friend SOnia O’Bree-Smith said. ‘He’s got a great sense of humour. He loves basketball, he’s very kind, bubbly and outgoing’
He has to wear a helmet to protect the ‘soft’ section of his head where his skull as removed.
‘He’s actually talking really well but walking is very wobbly, so he’s having rehab therapies for that,’ said Ms O’Bree-Smith.
His family are hopeful he can be moved to Port Macquarie Base Hospital soon so that he can be closer to home.
If all goes to plan, Hunter will have a plate fitted in his head to replace the missing part of his skull in six weeks.
Ms O’Bree-Smith set up a GoFundMe page which has so far raised almost $10,000 for his lengthy rehabilitation.
