The family of a Fife toddler who died aged three have remembered a “smiley, happy” boy who would “light up every room”.
Sebastian Nicol died suddenly at Victoria Hospital last month in his mum Stacey’s arms.
The three-year-old lived in Glenrothes with Fife College student Stacey, 28, and his gran Pauline Quigg, 51.
The youngster was born prematurely at just 24 weeks and had problems with his lungs.
This meant he needed a tracheotomy, a surgical procedure to create an opening in the windpipe, at just six months old.
Fife toddler Sebastian remembered as ‘smiley, happy boy’
Pauline, who works at The Wee Cafe in Dunfermline, told Original FM: “He was born in Kirkcaldy and then rushed over to Simpsons [maternity hospital] in Edinburgh.
“He had nine CPRs done in the first three months of his life and 13 failed extubations as his lungs were underdeveloped.
“At six months old, he went to Glasgow to get a tracheotomy. He had a lot of medical issues he fought.
“He eventually got home to us at 13-and-a-half months old.
“He had his off days where he would end up in hospital with an infection, but on a whole we kept him at home the majority of the time.
“It was actually an exciting time this year because he was going to be getting surgery for a reconstructed airway to take his tracheotomy away.
“We were just waiting on that phone call from Glasgow.
“He was just a happy, smiley boy all the time.
“If he had an illness he hid it from you, he was really good, he never showed pain.
“He just smiled.
“We thought he was doing absolutely amazingly right up to the day we lost him.”
Glenrothes boy was approaching fourth birthday
Sebastian, who attended Halbeath Nursery in Dunfermline, was just weeks away from his fourth birthday when he died on April 17.
Pauline recalled that the family had a normal morning before he was rushed to hospital.
She said: “He didn’t crawl, he always bunny-hopped, so he bunny-hopped around the corner and I was like, ‘Oh, my boy, you look gorgeous’.
“I was happy that he was big smiles as normal.”
However, soon after eating his breakfast, Sebastian was sick and became cold to the touch.
Pauline and Stacey were advised to take him to Victoria Hospital.
He was admitted to the children’s ward where he suffered a cardiac arrest and medical staff performed CPR for around 45 minutes.
Pauline said the three-year-old then “pulled a Sebastian”, a term his doctor’s used as he fought off illness, and started breathing again.
This gave his mum and gran time to call other family members to the hospital.
Sebastian died later that night in Stacey’s arms.
Pauline added: “The NHS pushed everything at that wee boy, they never pushed anyone away, all the family were there and there were over 30 of us.
“Never once did they complain about anything.”
Mystery over youngster’s death at Victoria Hospital
Despite a post-mortem examination, the family still don’t know what caused the youngster’s death.
They also received visits from CID as Sebastian’s passing was unexpected.
Pauline said: “They put it down as sudden, unexplained death pending further investigation.
“They did say there was brown, sticky mucus in his lungs which comes from a small bleed, we don’t know if he had that from birth.
“They also said, the CID said, his tummy was ‘angry looking’.”
Sebastian, whose favourite TV programme was ITV’s Catchphrase, is remembered by his mum as a “happy, cheeky boy”.
She said: “He was a very happy, cheeky boy.
“He couldn’t speak but you could tell what he wanted and didn’t want.
“He just smiled all the time, he was always smiling.”
Pauline added: “He would light up any room that he went into.
“He was full of life, the rougher you were with him, the better, regardless of his tracheotomy.”
After her son’s death, Stacey contacted singer Nathan Grisdale, who wrote a song based on Sebastian’s story
The family also received help from several local businesses to organise Sebastian’s funeral.
Pauline said: “It’s what is keeping us together, talking about the wee boy.
“The community has come together to help us.
“We didn’t want a wake to say goodbye to Sebastian, we wanted a party, a children’s party.
“Nine or ten different businesses came together and never charged us a penny.”
Sebastian’s coffin was wrapped in a Paw Patrol graphic. A Stagecoach bus was hired to transport people to the funeral.
“It was a fitting tribute to our boy,” Pauline added.
“It was, when we pulled in, we couldn’t believe the amount of people standing waiting to celebrate our wee boy.
“That’s what we wanted, we didn’t want doom and gloom.”
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