Boy, 5, who ‘gave kisses to anybody’ dies of cardiac arrest as parents pay tribute to ‘wee character’
THE heartbroken parents of a five-year-old boy “who hugged and kissed everyone” have paid tribute to their little boy.
Lucius Corry fell ill with his family after a day at an amusement park and died hours later in hospital of complications from cardiac arrest.
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His mother Joanne and father John from Belfast are still desperate for answers after the sudden tragedy on August 22, 2022.
Joanne told BelfastLive: “He was a bit discolored and when we got to Funtasia he was fine.”
“He played a bit for about ten minutes, then got in the stroller and said ‘no,’ which was unlike him because he loved gentle play.”
“My mom took him outside to feed him but he threw up. He wasn’t himself at all, so we got home early.”
Joanne called the doctor around 6:15 p.m. and received a call back about four hours later.
At 3am Lucius started throwing up. As soon as blood ran from his nose and his lips turned blue, she took him to the hospital.
“John said, ‘C’mon son, we’re going to Funky Monkeys’ and Lucius said ‘Yes, dad’ and breathed his last,” Joanne said.
When they arrived at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Lucius, who had Down Syndrome, was unresponsive and could not be revived.
Tests revealed he had two infections and a coroner concluded he had gone into cardiac arrest.
In a tribute to her son, Joanne said, “He’s grown into such a small character.”
“He loved looking at his tablet, hopped on the sofa, watched Mr. Tumble and relaxed with a packet of (chocolate) buttons.”
John said that when people met Lucius they never forgot him.
“He was just such a loving and loving kid,” he added.
“He would have hugged and kissed everyone.
“He was always running around wanting to dance with people and say hello to everyone he passed.”
While the parents accept how their boy died, they continue to search for an explanation of what else they could have done.
They are now pushing for one self-funded investigation so that they can come to a conclusion.
Joanne said: “We want to know if he could have been saved. If he had been seen earlier, could that have saved him?”
“Maybe it wouldn’t have been, but we’d just like some answers.”