Rockhampton boy Ashton Palmer dies after brave battle with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy

A young Rockhampton boy is being remembered as having the “kindest soul” after he passed away following a long battle with a form of muscular dystrophy. Now his family want to help others going through the same thing.

From a young age Ashton Palmer knew his life expectancy wasn’t the same as other kids, but that didn’t stop him spreading happiness with his “infectious smile”.

Ashton was diagnosed with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) when he was just a young boy.

DMD is a genetic disorder that is characterised by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.

Ashton fought the disease for 15 years, but he lost his battle on July 29, just a few months shy of his 16th birthday.

For five weeks Ashton has been in a PICU ward in Brisbane after contracting rhinovirus which led to pneumonia, as well as the deterioration of his condition with DMD.

Ashton Palmer passed away from DMD and is being remembered as having the "kindest soul".

His family then toured Hummingbird House, a children’s hospice, and were excited for Ashton to be able to use the facilities amenities.

But the tour ended in shock when they learned the facility didn’t have a portable ventilator, meaning Ashton wouldn’t have as much time to use the facility as the family first thought.

Ashton’s aunt Kiri Chatfield, who he lived with for a number of years, said they were told once the ventilator was removed it would only take about 20 minutes for the teen to pass away.

But young Ashton fought for a further six hours to spend some precious last moments with his family.

“It was one of the most beautiful but painful days, when they took the vent out you could hear a pin drop, he licked his lips a couple of times and just kept going ‘I love you’, shaking his head from side to side to look at everyone,” she said.

“He hadn’t been able to speak to us for five weeks because of the ventilator.”

In his final moments at Hummingbird House Ashton’s family was able to make final precious memories with him before he passed, spending time on the balcony in the sun and eating hot chips.

15-year-old Ashton died on July 29 a few months shy of his 16th birthday.

“I was able to give him a haircut,” Kiri said.

“Just having that one day out of hospital would have been magic for him...when we toured the place we saw there was a bath and we were really excited to be able to give him a bubble bath for the first time in a few years.

“But when they had to take the ventilator out we didn’t get time to do that.

“It’s those little things we take for granted he really would have enjoyed.”

Kiri said Ashton had the “most kindest soul” and “beautiful grace”.

“Ashton’s personality affects you forever, “ she said.

“When we started to notify people that Ashton was in intensive care I got over 130 messages of support from people in the Northern Territory, Adelaide, Melbourne...all over.

“People gravitated towards him because he had an infectious smile, children would see him and he’d give them a wave and tell them ‘I can give you a ride on my wheelchair’.

Ashton’s aunt Kiri said the teen had the “kindest soul” and was loved by all.

“He was just amazing, he went through a few medical procedures and he did it with such grace.”

Kiri shared fond memories of Ashton from wearing his Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs gear to watch his cousins play football and singing him the song You Are My Sunshine during tough times in hospital.

“He loved the Bulldogs, he didn’t care when they weren’t doing too good he would rock up to watch my kids play footy in his jersey and would sometimes get heckled but he just said ‘they’re my team, someone has to win and someone has to lose’,” she said.

“You Are My Sunshine was our song, he loved that song even when he was in pain...he was my little sunshine.”

Ashton was a big fan of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Kiri began a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to cover Ashton’s funeral costs and bring his body home to Rockhampton.

The rest of the left over funds are being donated to Ronald McDonald House and Hummingbird House.

“They were just amazing at Hummingbird House,” Kiri said.

“The facility was fantastic, they allowed us to stay with Ashton even after he passed...they cooked us all his favourite meal for dinner that night at a time we weren’t really thinking about food.”

Kiri said they were also planning to raise more money for a portable ventilator for Hummingbird House so other families could have more precious time with their loved ones.

“It will be beneficial for other families and Ashton’s younger brother has the same condition so we will eventually go through the same thing again,” she said.

While a fundraiser is still in the planning stages, Kiri said she was hopeful they could organise one for October 27, which would have been Ashton’s 16th birthday.