A schoolboy who had a cough and a temperature died ‘out of nowhere’ hours after telling his parents he would ‘rest in bed’.
Tomas Remeikis was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension after doctors discovered a hole in his heart as a young child.
The 12-year-old had been living a healthy life for many years after his diagnosis – cycling to school every day and going to taekwondo classes twice a week.
But Tomas, who was born in Manchester and lived in the city before moving to Southport two years ago, fell ill at home on May 26.
He was rushed to hospital, where he tragically died. Andrius Remeikis, Tomas’ dad, told the Liverpool Echo: “He was great. He was very kind and friendly. He always had friends.
“Tomas was born in Manchester. Two years ago we moved into Southport, a little dream of ours. We used to come here often and when we finally moved we were really happy.
“Tomas made friends quickly at school and his taekwondo classes. Everyone knew him as a very kind, friendly and polite person.”
According to the NHS, pulmonary hypertension is a serious condition that can damage the right side of the heart. It causes high blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the lungs.
As a young child, Tomas often experienced shortness of breath and tiredness, two symptoms of pulmonary hypertension.
Andrius said: “He was just ill all the time but we thought it was chest infections. Then his mum went to see her parents when he was about two and a half, three years old, and he was walking with his granddad on a little scooter.
“Tomas used to stop to catch breath and his granddad became a bit suspicious. He said, he shouldn’t be so tired.”
Tomas was checked by a family doctor in Lithuania who discovered Tomas had a hole in his heart and needed surgery urgently. This was successful.
Tomas still had to take medication every day and received regular check-ups at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London but he appeared to be fine.
Andrius said: “He was doing really well. He was going taekwondo twice a week. He was cycling to school every day. We always asked him, how are you feeling? How’s your lung?
“Do you feel any pain? How’s your heart? He always said, yeah, I’m okay. He had a couple of like fainting episodes, but that was due to the taekwondo training. It was high intensity, a lot of jumping and push-ups. This was all noted.
“Once a year, twice a year, like episodes where he is feeling a bit dizzy. But then nothing would show up in tests. Everything would be very stable.”
Around a week before his death, Tomas started feeling poorly with a cough and a temperature but he soon felt better.
Andrius said: “After a couple of days he went back to school. He even cycled with his mum to watch his brother play football. Then the weekend came and he was looking forward to coming out with me to do a car boot sale.”
Tomas fell ill again on the Bank Holiday Monday. Andrius said: “I had just made breakfast and he wasn’t feeling well. I asked the same questions about his lungs and heart but he just had a cough.
“He said, I’ll go rest in bed for a bit. In the afternoon he got up again and I made him some tea. I asked how he was feeling and he said, maybe a bit better.
“Then it just all happened all of a sudden. I was with my wife and we decided to go to the hospital. She started getting his trousers out and then she shouted at me, saying, his lips are getting blue. He shouted, ‘mum, help’ and we called the ambulance. Then he lost consciousness.”
The ambulance arrived very quickly and Tomas was taken to hospital. The family aren’t exactly sure when or why he died. Those who conducted the post-mortem said it looks like his heart failed but the cause of death will be determined by an inquest.
The family had no idea this was coming. Andrius said: “Earlier this year, we went to London again to get all the full tests done and they were quite happy with how well he was doing. It’s just came out of nowhere.”
Tomas will be deeply missed by his mum Inesa, dad Andrius and his younger brother Lukas. His funeral was held at Holy Family Church on Brompton Road which attracted many of his friends from both schools he went to, Takewondo and kids he had met online while playing PlayStation.
Andrius said: “The word even got out to his ex-teachers in Manchester. A friend he’d met gaming was from Ireland and he flew over with his dad. I thought, what a cool dad, to bring his son to say goodbye to his mate.”
The family has asked for donations to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, who supported Tomas throughout his life. They have given their permission for his heart to be donated to the organisation for medical research.
Andrius said: “Tomas was kind, friendly, loving and outgoing. He really got along with everyone that he came in contact with. Anyone who spent time with him loved him.”