Keeping up with his three big brothers keeps four-year-old Rocco busy! He loves to be outside zooming around on his bike or happily playing with his cars.
When Rocco woke up one morning with a temperature and then refused food, his parents Tegan and Dereck became concerned. Then, when their usually energetic little boy became lethargic and unable to swallow, they took him straight to the nearest hospital.
Almost immediately they were transferred to the children’s hospital.
Doctors diagnosed Rocco with infected lymph nodes. The infection was starting to impact his carotid artery - the major blood vessel in the neck.
“It was so frightening,” Tegan said. “Rocco couldn’t breathe properly and was beginning to choke on his own saliva in his sleep.”
The severity and location of the infection deep within his throat, meant Rocco needed emergency surgery through the side of his neck.
Doctors drained the abscess and placed two drains in Rocco’s neck to release the remaining fluid. He also needed an NG tube for his pain medication.
“The hardest part was trying to manage his pain,” mum Tegan said. “Rocco hated the feeding tube and kept trying to rip it out so we had to splint his arms so he couldn’t reach it.”
The pain from surgery and the sudden world of hospital was overwhelming for Rocco. He became non-verbal and it was nearly a week before he spoke again.
Amid so much pain and distress, Tegan said Starlight was the first positive step in Rocco’s recovery.
“Rocco had not spoken, smiled or wanted to do anything; he had no strength so needed to be in a wheelchair. As soon as he got to the Starlight Express Room, he went straight to the drums. He had the biggest smile and was determined to get out of his wheelchair and sit at the drum kit,” she said.
Following his surgery, Rocco couldn’t turn his head, and his neck was very stiff and sensitive. He also had to be careful with his wound site to avoid infection.
While dealing with the pain of his recovery, the Starlight Express Room helped distract Rocco and gave him a place to play and still be a kid while in hospital. He loved playing Mario Kart with the Captain Starlight and joined in the fun of the Starlight Express Room Christmas party with his family.
Tegan and Dereck were familiar with Starlight from a previous hospital admission for Rocco’s older brother, Jordan.
“The Captain Starlights visited Jordan when he was in hospital and played games and did face painting with him. I was so impressed with the way Starlight helps sick kids back then I started donating to Starlight to keep their hospital services running.”
Thankfully, Rocco has now fully recovered but has “a pretty decent scar” on his neck.
He’s getting his confidence back and one of his biggest recent achievements was riding his bike without training wheels. Look out big brothers!
“After going through such a traumatic experience in hospital, it was so valuable for Rocco to be able to access all the different activities in the Starlight Express Room and just have fun. Without Starlight, I believe it would have been a much slower recovery for Rocco,” Tegan said.
