Failures at two hospitals resulted in years of crisis, fear and loss for Tipperary family

Every morning, a proud mother waves off her five-year-old son Graysen, as he takes the bus to school outside their family home in ClonmelClonmel.

On many occasions throughout her son’s life, Rachel Reid was told that Graysen would not survive.
It is a miracle Graysen is still alive but he battles hugely debilitating health challenges every day because of failures in his care at South Tipperary General Hospital and Cork University Hospital in a seven-month period after his birth.

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Given the profoundly distressing journey Graysen and Rachel have been on over the last few years, the simple everyday pleasures are something that gives Rachel fulfilling moments of motherly joy.

Like any mother, she loves to display the artwork Graysen proudly brings home from Scoil Aonghusa in the kitchen, aware of just how miraculous such an event is, given Graysen’s incredible story.

Graysen, through his mother Rachel, sued the HSE over the failures in his care at both hospitals.
Last month, the High Court approved an interim €5million settlement against the HSE as Graysen had suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to a failure to diagnose an obstruction in his airways he had had since birth.

The High Court was told that as a result of these failures to recognise and treat his airway obstruction, Graysen sustained irreversible brain injury, leaving him with Grade 5 cerebral palsy and profound physical and cognitive impairment.

In an interview with The Nationalist, Rachel Reid said Graysen had been failed again and again over seven months while in the care of South Tipperary General Hospital and Cork University Hospital.

“What should have been a short hospital stay after his birth turned into years of crisis, fear and loss,” said Rachel as she spoke about their long and painful journey.

JOY
“Graysen is the heart of our family - he brings us joy every single day,” said Rachel.
She said that the life Graysen now lives and the 24-hour care he will need for the rest of his life were the direct result of failings that should never have happened, failings that took place not just once but time and time again over seven months when he was a tiny vulnerable baby.

“Nothing can undo the harm that was done to our little boy.
“Graysen’s life has been irreparably changed, and so too has ours,” said Rachel, who was awarded the Tipperary Carer of the Year when Graysen was younger.

“The doctors we trusted to protect him let him down repeatedly and there is no excuse for it. The damages approved by the High Court will help provide the care, home, and support that Graysen deserves, but no amount of money can ever make right what has been taken from him,” said Rachel.

“The truth is that the people who really pay for medical negligence are not the hospitals or the State, it is the children, the parents, and the families who must live every day with the consequences,” said Rachel who has another son called Arlo who will be two at the end of November.

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LESSONS
“We hope that lessons will be learned from what happened to Graysen so that no other family has to endure the same heartache,” she said.

Rachel thanked her solicitor Cian O’Carroll and the legal team that represented her throughout the case.
Rachel said she was 24-years-old when she was pregnant with Graysen and never for a moment thought anything could go wrong.

She remembers being very happy and excited when pregnant.
Graysen was born prematurely at 26 weeks on December 23, 2019 at South Tipperary General Hospital

He experienced severe difficulties with his airways and there were numerous failed attempts to intubate him. He was later transferred to Cork University Hospital and went between both hospitals for treatment in the first few months of his life.

The court was told that despite clear signs of obstruction there was no proper investigation of his airways leading to “catastrophic consequences”. In March 2020 he suffered respiratory arrest and was again unable to be intubated leading to a 30-minute delay in reestablishing his airway.

He was later diagnosed with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) - a severe brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation. Over the following months, he continued to experience repeated problems with his airways and had to be resuscitated multiple times but was discharged home in June 2020.

In July 2020, he was finally referred to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, where his condition was recognised.
During surgery, doctors were unable to intubate him, and an emergency tracheostomy was required to save his life. He was diagnosed with a Grade 4 airway and tracheomalacia - conditions present since birth.

Approving the settlement , Mr Justice Paul Coffey described it as a sad and tragic case which has “upended the lives” of Graysen’s parents.

He said he believed the settlement was a fair and reasonable one in light of the risks associated with Graysen’s premature birth.

Rachel Reid said that thankfully Graysen was “still here with us but he has a lot of needs”.

CHRISTMAS
“The life he should have had was taken away. You always think who he could have been, what would he have been into.
“Even Arlo misses out on not having the big brother he should have.”

She could see the excitement that Arlo has for Christmas and Graysen has none of that and never will.
“I can go into Smyths Toyshop but there will be nothing there suitable for Graysen,” said Rachel.
“There is a lot of anger comes from that, it would be one thing if he was born that way but he wasn’t - this was done to him.

The failings in the hospitals have caused this to be done to him,” said Rachel.
She was critical of the HSE, who she said admitted 80% liability, but who dragged it out to the bitter end before settlement.
Rachel said the HSE originally offered €1million that was never going to be enough to look after Graysen’s needs in the future and it would have left them battling forever with the HSE for services that Graysen would need.

“They wanted us to take that and go away.
“It would not have covered the bare necessities that Graysen would need.

His life was impacted forever and if the HSE could have got away with a derisory offer they would have done. There was mediation and negotiation and it dragged on for years.

“The HSE made life for us all much more difficult and kept putting barriers in our way,” said Rachel.