Cairns father of two Evan Brown fighting for life after melioidosis diagnosis

After weeks of battling what he thought was the flu, a Far North sales assistant went to work as usual, never suspecting he would be fighting for his life hours later.

Cairns sales assistant Evan Brown with his wife Sarah and their two children Mia, 8, and Connor, 11 before being diagnosed with melioidosis just days after his 40th birthday.

After weeks of battling a lingering illness, which he thought was simply the flu, a Cairns father and sales assistant went to work as usual, never suspecting he would be fighting for his life hours later.

Just days after his 40th birthday, Evan Brown was rushed to hospital with multiple organ failure and septicaemia, which would later be diagnosed as a result of deadly bacterial infection, melioidosis.

It comes after a patient died from the disease in Cairns in January amid a spke in infection numbers, and seven children were diagnosed with the virus last year.

Mr Brown’s brother Sean said his brother, who was admitted to hospital on February 13, deteriorated so quickly by February 14, doctors called the family to say their final goodbyes.

“The doctor’s said to get everyone who we thought might need to say goodbye to him as he was probably going to die that night,” Sean said.

Cairns sales assistant Evan Brown with his wife Sarah and their two children Mia, 8, and Connor, 11 before being diagnosed with melioidosis just days after his 40th birthday.

By 1.30am Wednesday morning, Evan was placed in an induced coma.

The diagnosis of melioidosis would come 12 hours later.

“Essentially melioidosis is a bug in the soil. You can catch that from working outside or it being in the air,” he said.

“They’re saying after the floods it’s going to the top of the soil. Somehow he’s caught it. He’d been dealing with it for the last month.

“He thought he as getting a bit of flu, and went to the doctor the Thursday beforehand. The doctor put it down to the medication he was coming off so to find out it was this, sort of makes you frustrated with the GP system and proves you can’t take no for an answer really.”

Sean said Evan’s health took a slight turn for the better, prompting Evan’s medical team to turn to a specialist melioidosis team on the Gold Coast for help.

Burkholderia pseudomallei. A bacteria which cause melioidosis, a disease spread through contaminated water and soil.

“Within half an hour they got the team on a plane to fly up to Cairns. They went over him, and said he wasn’t as bad as they thought he would be, but wanted to take him down to Gold Coast because they’re the specialists in the situation, the best in Australia.”

Since Evan has been on the Gold Coast, Sean said his condition was improving a little despite remaining in the induced coma, and he would face a long recovery process should he pull through.

The family have put together a GoFundMe to cover bills and expenses while his wife Sarah, a daycare teacher, and their two young children fly down to the Gold Coast to be by his side.

“We don’t know how long they’re gonna be down there for. Evan could be there for six to 12 months, so we’re just trying to raise a bit of money for him, and get his story out there,” he said.

Originally published as Cairns father of two Evan Brown fighting for life after melioidosis diagnosis