Jaise's Story

On Sunday August 3^rd 2008, Jaise Michael Taylor entered the world.

He was in a hurry to enter this world, arriving almost 5 weeks early and spent the first week of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle. Jaise had difficulties breathing from birth, due to some medication I was prescribed during pregnancy to help with severe migraines.

He was born a fighter and overcome lots of hurdles in the first 18 months of his life, which included Benign Sleep Myoclonus, severe reflux and a chest infection at 5 months that saw him hospitalised for over 8 days. I became very protective of my little ‘Bear’ because he was often sick and at the hospital, but he always made me proud. I have photos of him when he was in hospital at 5 months of age, so sick he could hardly move, but he still managed a smile.

In early 2010 Jaise had trouble breathing and was rushed to Redcliffe Hospital 2 occasions where he was hospitalised due to severe asthma attacks.

At the age of 2 years, just days after his 2nd birthday, he was officially diagnosed as an asthmatic and placed on a preventative, which made the world of difference to his breathing. I would still have to give him a dose of Ventolin via his nebuliser every night, often a few times a night if he had a cold or was sick. At first he didn’t like the nightly routine of all his medications but after a while, he got the hang of it and eventually insisted that ‘Nannie do, Nannie do’ the administering of his medication when she was staying with us for a few months earlier this year.

Even when our little ’Bear’ was sick, he still managed a smile and always hugged us tight.

 
Over the past 2 years Jaise grew to become a loving, happy go lucky boy who was always full of smiles and lots of energy to match.

He would walk into a room and his dimples, smile and little voice would melt any heart.

One of his favourite toys were his cars. He used to play matchbox cars, read car magazines, watch Roary the Racing Car and make ‘broooom broooom’ noises all the time.

If it wasn’t cars, it was trains. He loved watching Chuggington and wore his Thomas the Tank Engine thongs that he got for his 2^nd Birthday all the time.

He was so obsessed with these toys he would often called out to me in the night and when I would sneak into his room, he would look up and ask ‘car Mummy?’ so I would get him a car and he would reply ‘Ni Ni Mummy’.

He had lots of cute and funny sayings, just to name a few:

Cookies were Cookoos, Aunty Debbie was Dare, Milo was Myno and he always wanted Kisses, in which he would run to you and yell…. Mwaaa!!!!

His oldest sister, who turns 10 in December, doted on him. She has always been such a wonderful help with her siblings. Some mornings she would come into me in bed and ask if she could get Jaise up when he wakes up.

If he needed a bottle, Tahli would help get it ready and even if he had a smelly nappy she would be there by my side or wanting to change him.

His youngest sister, turned 5 in September and she was Jaise’s best friend and partner in crime. They played cars, dolls, dress ups and enjoyed running in the backyard together everyday.

Yes they would fight, but if one of them was upset or sick, the other was never far away and ready to offer comfort.

 
 

In September 2010 we were on a trip visiting family in the Hunter Area NSW, and spent a few days at his Aunty & Uncle’s place in Anna Bay. We had spent a few days over the weekend before his accident having a quick dip in the pool at the house that they had recently rented. The swims were quick because the water temperature was still very cold, even though the days were getting warmer.

On Monday September 27^th 2010 his Aunty & Uncle went off to work and I stayed at their place with my 3 children, my niece who was 8 and my nephew who was 16.

I dropped my sister in law to work in the morning as she had let me have the car.

I went back to their place and started doing some general housework for them while they were at work.

At about 10am Jaise started to get grizzly, so I gave him a bottle and put him upstairs in his porta cot for his morning sleep. He said ‘Ni Ni Mummy’ as he always did and I went downstairs to continue cleaning and organising our trip back home to QLD.

Over the next few hours my 2 daughters and their cousin played inside and out, we had a dip in the pool and I made them a picnic morning tea to have under the back patio. I checked the pool gate was shut while I was on a phone call prior to Jaise waking up.

At around noon Jaise woke up, so I went upstairs and picked him up from his cot. He gave me the most affectionate cuddles as we walked downstairs to where the living area was.

I got him a little drink and he asked for his dodo (dummy) then I had cuddles and watched Chuggington with him.

After Jaise had a little cuddle and had fully woken up he decided he wanted to go outside and play with the girls.

My nephew was still upstairs in his room at this stage so it was just the kids and I that were downstairs.

I continued to clean and made a few phone calls to organise a rental car to drive back to QLD the following day. I had the back screen door open so the kids could come and go when the pleased and I could see them at all times.

The girls asked for something for lunch at around 12.20pm and after looking in the cupboard I suggested we get some hot chips and have lunch somewhere. All the kids thought that was a wonderful idea so I explained to them I had to close the computer down, put some washing out and wash a few dishes up quickly then we could go for a drive.

I walked inside and as I did I saw Jaise ride one of the scooters along the patio. I checked the washing but it still hadn’t finished so I put some dishes in the sink and walked into the lounge to finish up what was on the computer. It was then that I saw Jaise scoot pass the glass doors again.

My nephew yelled out from halfway down the stairs that he was ‘going to do something’ and I yelled out ‘where are you going?’ but he had already walked out the front screen door. I heard voices so I assumed his mates had come over to see him and they were heading out.

I then turned around to look for Jaise, and he was gone. Then the noise suddenly dulled and I had this sinking pitted feeling in my stomach.

I remembered hearing my nephew go out the front screen door, so I asked my eldest daughter if Jaise was near her. She replied no, so I ran out through the front screen door hoping Jasie hadn’t followed my nephew out the door. I started to hurry down the driveway, thinking he had run off somewhere, when for some unknown reason, because it was silent outside, I looked to my left and saw my 8 year old daughter pulling my two year old out of the pool by his arms.

I remember feeling like a huge wall had stopped me in my tracks; I instantly felt the pain of terror and started screaming ‘NO NO NO HELP’

I could not believe what I was seeing, my daughter was pulling him from the pool, my niece and other daughter were standing by screaming and crying.

By the time I got to my son, my daughter had him laying in the recovery position and was draining water from him. I started to tell her to call 000 but she yelled ‘Im calling 000’ and ran inside with her cousin. My 4 year old daughter, just stood at the fence and screamed, she had no idea what was going on.

I remember seeing Jaise, looking lifeless and blue. I picked him up and started to run towards the road and scream for help. My little boy was so heavy and wet and I felt hopeless.

Within no more than 30 seconds a lady came running from next door to help, my daughter had not only called 000 but also gone next door for help.

She took my son and started CPR as other neighbours started to come to help.

After what felt like an eternity, I heard Police and Ambulance sirens in the distance.

Cars started pulling up everywhere and it all felt like a bad dream that I just had to wake up from. I was sitting with a female officer and we heard the helicopter circling waiting to land somewhere.

Jaise was revived on the scene and air lifted to John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle where he spent two days on life support.

The Doctors did lost of tests which included CT scans, MRIs, Xrays and even took him to surgery to insert a monitor into his little brain to see how much swelling he had on his brain.

After 2 days in the ICU and on full life support we were told that Jaise had suffered a hypoxic brain injury, which had left him brain dead.

 

So sadly on Wednesday September 29^th 2010 at 10.30am, Jaise left us to become an Angle in heaven.

Before we buried Jaise in QLD with just immediate family present, we had a memorial service in my home town of Orange, NSW. Over 200 people attended, including family, friends, former work mates, old school friends that travelled from afar and even people we didn’t know. It was unbelievable to see how many lives our little boy had touched in his short life.

 
 
 
Its now a year on, we would normally be happily bouncing around, looking forward to the warmer summer weather and the Christmas celebrations that approach us.

Instead, my eldest daughter is having difficulties sleeping and keeps going over the events of that tragic day in September 2010, trying to make sense of what happened.

My youngest daughter sits here at home with me and draws pictures for her little brother and talks about missing him every hour or so throughout the day.

I sit here and try to remember all the happy times we got to spend with Jaise, all the funny sayings, funny mannerisms he had and remember his smell. However, its not the same. I miss having our little ’Bear’ running around, playing cars and happily jumping around.

Since Jaise died we have been informed, by NSW Police, that the pool didn’t meet the safety standard to the rental property.

I am angry, this house was a death trap, I was on holidays visiting my relatives and this happens. I constantly wonder how anyone can live in that house after what has happened, I feel awful for what my niece and daughters saw that day.

I knew the gate was shut because I closed it myself, but they tell me the lock on it drops and didn’t catch properly. This just should not have happened. It was the owner’s responsibility to make sure it was compliant and due to this not happening, my little boy now lies in a cemetery instead of his warm bed at night.

I lost my little boy because the laws are not enforced in NSW. That is just so wrong in so many ways!

Our lives will never be the same again, my family shattered and torn apart.  I am now attending Professional counselling with my two girls which was organised by Hannah’s Foundation

It’s hard waking up every day, I expect to hear my little boy yell out ‘Mummy’ or cry during the night. Some mornings I lay there, waiting to hear him when I first wake up, then I realise, he’s gone and I will never hear that little voice call for me again. I struggle with anxiety and the flashbacks and my eldest daughter has major anxiety and is showing signs OCD.  I worry for my kids, its never going to be the same.

I get so mad and frustrated when people ask me if Jaise could swim. The answer is no. However even if he could swim, it would have made no difference. The pool was so damn cold and he would not have had the upper body strength to pull himself out of the water.

I will never forget how blue or lifeless he was and that water is etched in my mind forever. I panic if I get wet whilst fully clothed as it reminds me of that day, when I picked my son up and ran for help with him in my arms. Also if I carry anything heavy it reminds me of carrying his cold lifeless body and screaming for help.

I find that CPR Is being promoted as a bandaid for drowning and its not, its the last prevention in saving lives and I just wish that people would wake up and realise how important prevention is.