Family’s bid to raise awareness of long QT syndrome after eight-year-old son suffers heart attack and near-drowning
When Jeziah failed to surface while playing in a pool, the rush to save his life from a nearly catastrophic heart attack began. He now faces a long road to recovery after an undiagnosed condition was uncovered.
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An eight-year-old boy with an undiagnosed medical condition had to be resuscitated after he suffered a heart attack and drowned in a friend’s pool last month.
Jeziah Geisler and a school friend were playing in a backyard pool on Saturday, March 29 when the horrifying incident occurred.
The school friend screamed out to his mother, who pulled Jeziah’s lifeless body from the water and performed CPR until emergency services arrived.
Jeziah’s mother Jasmine Wilson said her son was in an induced coma for six days before further testing revealed the eight-year-old had undiagnosed long QT syndrome (LQTS), a disorder of the heart’s electrical system.
“(Jeziah’s friend) noticed he was under the water and wasn’t coming back up,” she said.
Ms Wilson said backyard CCTV cameras captured the entire incident including Jeziah’s desperate attempts to grab the side of the pool before he “passed out and drowned”.
“(Paramedics) had to shock his heart twice to get it started,” she said.
“I got a phone call and they said ‘your son has drowned’ … I was just in shock from then on.
“(Jeziah) was basically lifeless on the outdoor table … I just broke down.”
Ms Wilson said Jeziah was rushed to the Queensland Children’s Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition nearly two weeks after the incident.
“He has always been an athlete, he plays touch footy, (has) always been a good swimmer, fast runner … it’s just really tragic,” she said.
Ms Wilson said she wanted to raise awareness about the often undiagnosed LQTS.
“There were no signs that there was anything wrong (with Jeziah), it just happened out of the blue,” she said.
“I’m 29 and I didn’t realise I had it … people can go their whole lives and not know … basically until the initial cardiac arrest a lot of people don’t even know they have it.”
Ms Wilson said the “emotional rollercoaster” was far from over with Jeziah now learning how to walk and eat again.
“I haven’t been home since it happened,” she said.
Ms Wilson, a disability support worker, has been forced to stop work to help care for her son.
“As a mother, not being able to protect your child, saying goodbye to him, you know ‘have fun at your friend’s house’, and then the next thing I get a (phone) call that he’s drowned …”
Ms Wilson said she was told LQTS was often “more prevalent in adolescent boys”.
“Overnight our whole lives changed … We’ve lived through every parent’s worst nightmare and we couldn’t even prepare for it.”
A GoFundMe has since been launched by family friend Gerri Cary.
“(Jeziah’s) parents are unable to work, they have 4 other children to support and the bills don’t stop,” Ms Cary wrote.
“Jeziah needs rehabilitation and therapy to learn how to walk again, and to redefine his fine motor skills.
“He needs to be fitted with a defibrillator (in case of further cardiac arrest).
“We have a lengthy road to recovery ahead.”
Healthdirect states that people with LQTS “may experience fast or irregular heartbeats, fainting or seizures”.
“Your doctor will diagnose LQTS by doing an ECG,” Healthdirect’s website states.
“Treatment may involve limiting intense physical activity, avoiding certain medicines, or taking medicines to help prevent episodes of fast or irregular heartbeats.”
Originally published as Family’s bid to raise awareness of long QT syndrome after eight-year-old son suffers heart attack and near-drowning
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