The family of a toddler who died after collapsing while playing at home have paid tribute to their “fearless” little boy.

Hudson, from Knowle, Bristol, died on January 8 after collapsing just weeks after celebrating his third birthday.

His parents believe his death was due to a ruptured coronary artery, as blood vessels in his heart were damaged when he contracted Kawasaki disease when he was seven months old. They want to raise awareness about the disease, which affects eight in 100,000 children.

“He was fearless and loved life,” said Hudson’s father, Damien. “He was truly the life and soul of our family.”

On the day of his death, Hudson was playing at home when he approached his mother, Natalie.

“When I looked at him, I could see that he looked very pale and had blue color around his mouth. Then he started crying so I knew something was wrong,” she said.

“He was lying on the floor crying, so I immediately picked him up and he just lost consciousness. He just passed away.”

Natalie and later paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Hudson, but his heart did not restart.

Hudson was first hospitalized as a baby when he developed a conjunctival infection (conjunctivitis, or conjunctivitis) and a fever that didn’t respond to over-the-counter medications.

While in the hospital, Hudson developed a rash all over her stomach, swollen glands and a swollen tongue.

His condition steadily worsened, and his parents said doctors initially struggled to determine the cause.

“They thought it might have been measles, but that was ruled out,” Damien said.

“They said they thought it might be Kawasaki disease, which we had never heard of, but Mr. Hudson’s fever lasted only three days, not five.” [which is the number of days typical with the disease]. ”

Kawasaki disease causes inflammation in blood vessels throughout the body. It particularly affects the arteries around the heart and can cause clotting.

After being diagnosed with the disease, Hudson was given appropriate medication and his symptoms improved.

He remained in the hospital for five weeks while doctors determined whether his blood could clot properly. Hudson was eventually sent home, and his parents were trained on how to give him twice-daily injections and monitor his blood’s ability to clot.

He continued to lead a happy life and was taken to the hospital for regular scans and tests.

Damian and Natalie said they had never heard of Mr Kawasaki before Hudson became ill and had no idea he was so seriously unwell.

“Many in our family tended to forget our situation,” Natalie said.

“We were told that as he gets older he won’t be able to play physical sports so we have to be careful then, but Hudson was just the opposite.

“He was climbing on chairs, climbing on couches, throwing himself everywhere all the time. He lived a completely normal life.”

Kawasaki Disease Charity UK works to raise awareness of the classic symptoms of the disease

Trustee Ian Ryan said peeling skin on the hands and feet was a “really, really obvious sign of heart problems”.

”[The charity] “We are starting a campaign to have every child who comes to reception undergo a heart ultrasound,” he said.

“Many parents don’t know that their child has Kawasaki disease, so we can tell if they have a residual aneurysm.

“If your child has a really bad flu, it could be pretty bad.

“While most children and babies (99.9%) recover effectively from the original symptoms, they do not know that what is left behind is actually life-threatening,” he added.

Damian said “Kawasaki needs to be at the forefront” for parents.

“This is a rare case, but even if you only know a little about it, please push it forward. We don’t know if Hudson could have been given the drug sooner. [if] It may help in the long run.

“What I want to emphasize is that this is not just a flu-like symptom and a little Calpol won’t help, so we need to act quickly and look for the key factors for Kawasaki,” he added.

According to the NHS, the most common symptoms of the disease are:

• rash
• swelling of the glands in the neck
• dry, red and cracked lips
• Swollen, bumpy, red tongue, or “strawberry tongue”
• Redness in the mouth and back of the throat
• Swollen and red hands and feet
• red eyes