A Dundee mother is threatening to sue NHS Tayside after her son was wrongly diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
Ryan McCallum, who is now 10, was diagnosed with the incurable disease at Ninewells Hospital when he was two years old.
His parents, Hazel and David, were told they would probably outlive their son and he would have to endure treatment for the condition, which results in mucus clogging the lungs and digestive system.
This causes breathing problems and makes it hard to digest food, thereby inhibiting growth and weight gain.
However, a test carried out in Liverpool after seven years of treatment discovered Ryan did not carry the genes necessary for the condition and that his illnesses must have another cause.
“He was 18 months when he became unwell and at 20 months he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis,” said Mrs McCallum.
“They took us into a room and told us our son would die before us.
“In 2005 they said they couldn’t find the gene but said they were going to continue treating him as if he had cystic fibrosis.
“But then last year specialists in Liverpool did some tests.
“Fifteen minutes later a doctor told us he didn’t have cystic fibrosis, which is brilliant for us but means that for seven and a half years he has been going through all sorts of treatment and physiotherapy.
“He’s never had a normal childhood.”
Mrs McCallum said she is now concerned the misdiagnosis has left the real cause of Ryan’s illness untreated and she fears what the consequences might be.
“He looks about six years old,” she said.
She added that she knows of another family whose son was wrongly diagnosed with the disease, which only occurs when both parents carry a mutated gene that regulates the amount of salt in the body.
If both parents carry this defective gene, then each child they have has a one in four chance of developing the condition.
“I have two daughters who are 22 and 14 years old but I know another family whose son was diagnosed and they decided not to have any more children because of it,” she said.
Cystic fibrosis affects around 8500 people in the UK and is the world’s most common inherited disease.
Around one in 25 people carry the faulty gene that can lead to the condition.
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said they cannot discuss individual cases.
“Due to patient confidentiality it would be inappropriate for us to comment,” she said.