Felix Bryhn, a nine-year-old from Kristianstad, was repeatedly sent home with painkillers despite his worsening symptoms. Eventually diagnosed with a brain tumor, Felix underwent two surgeries and faces a challenging recovery. His mother, Mimi, criticizes the healthcare system for not taking his condition seriously earlier.
Nine-Year-Old Felix Sent Home with Painkillers, Later Diagnosed with Brain Tumor
Nine-Year-Old Felix Sent Home with Painkillers, Later Diagnosed with Brain Tumor
Nine-year-old Felix Bryhn was always cheerful and loved playing football. Now, he can barely walk and struggles to see. A month ago, it was discovered that Felix had a brain tumor after healthcare repeatedly sent him home.
"I knew something was wrong with him, but they didn't take it seriously," says Felix's mother, Mimi Bryhn.
Felix, 9, lives in Kristianstad with his mother, father, and little brother Max, who is soon to turn two. He is a happy and lively boy who loves playing football, playing outside, and being with friends.
About a year ago, Felix started feeling unwell. He became easily tired, and his mother noticed changes in his personality. Six months ago, his condition worsened, and Felix began vomiting frequently and became easily dizzy.
"Just touching him made him dizzy. He could vomit for five days and refuse to eat," says Mimi Bryhn, who previously spoke with Kristianstadsbladet.
Several times, the parents took Felix to both the health center and the emergency room. Time and again, he was sent home with diagnoses like virus, exhaustion, or constipation. Mimi asked for Felix to be scanned, feeling something was wrong, but it never happened, she explains.
Operated Twice in One Week
On June 15, Felix suddenly became unresponsive and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. The next day, he was admitted to the children's ward at the Central Hospital in Kristianstad, CSK, and two days later, doctors discovered Felix had a tumor in the cerebellum that had grown into the brainstem.
"I have never broken down like I did then. The feeling of knowing something is wrong with your child, but never imagining it was this serious. And that they didn't take it seriously, it's hard to comprehend," says Mimi.
Felix was transferred to a hospital in Lund, and the tumor was removed. But two days later, complications arose. Fluid had accumulated in the brain and needed to be drained.
"He is Terrified"
After two operations in a short time, Felix is weak and far from the cheerful little boy he used to be. He can barely walk on his own, has difficulty seeing, and constantly suffers from anxiety attacks.
"As soon as he gets a headache, he panics and is terrified it might be a new tumor."
On Monday, another hospital period begins. Felix will travel to Uppsala, where he will receive radiation therapy for six weeks, fifteen minutes each day, to prevent the cancer from spreading.
Criticism of Healthcare: "No Trust"
Mimi works as a nurse assistant at the same hospital where Felix sought care several times before the tumor was discovered. She feels very disappointed with the children's emergency department at CSK, which she feels did not take Felix's case seriously.
"It's beyond criticism. I have no trust in them. I came with my child knowing something was wrong, only to be sent home with paracetamol and ibuprofen and not listened to. We probably visited the health center six or seven times and the emergency room just as many."
The head of the children's emergency department at CSK, Christine Karström, says they have initiated an investigation into Felix's case.
"We need to review what happened and see if we made any mistakes. Especially if the tumor could have been discovered earlier," she tells Kristianstadsbladet.
The Fight for the Children
Since life turned upside down for the Bryhn family over a month ago, things have been tough. The summer break was far from what the Bryhn family had envisioned, and there is now great concern about how the radiation therapy will go and whether Felix will be able to return to his old self.
For the children's sake, Mimi and father Emil keep their spirits up.
"We are on autopilot, we don't really know how we feel, it will probably come later. For Felix and Max, we stay strong and do what we can. We take it day by day."