Tragic End: 15-Year-Old Felix Dies After Routine Surgery
15-year-old Felix Ottosson miraculously survived a severe moped accident. For seven months, he fought through rehabilitation to regain a normal life. However, during his final surgery, something went wrong, and Felix passed away.
"It's impossible to comprehend what we've been through," says his mother, Sanna Hermansson.
In many ways, he was a typical 15-year-old. He played football, gamed, and spent time with friends.
"He was a very happy boy who looked brightly at life and was full of hope for the future," says Sanna.
His father, Andreas Ottosson, agrees:
"He was very content with life."
"It's something I want to learn from him, to be more content with life," Sanna adds.
Like many other youths in and around Jönköping, Felix used his moped to get to the gym and visit friends.
Collision with Car – Life-Threatening Injuries
One evening in October last year, Felix was riding his moped home from his girlfriend's when he was involved in a serious accident with a car. He flew several meters through the air before landing on the asphalt.
The head injuries were life-threatening, with significant blood loss and pressure inside his head, necessitating an emergency procedure to remove a bone flap on one side of his skull.
Felix was minutes from death – but survived.
"It was like we got a second chance at life," says Andreas.
Words Carried the Family Forward
He and Sanna sit in the garden under a warm June sun and recount.
"Everything will be alright."
"These words have been our and Felix's motto throughout this time," says Sanna.
She had the quote inked on her arm as a reminder of the hope that lived within the family as Felix fought his way back to a somewhat normal life – against all odds.
In Jönköpings-Posten, the family shared their tough times following the accident.
Felix struggled with rehab training several times a day to regain basic abilities – learning to talk, walk, and dress himself.
"Everyone who knows me knows I don't give up. They know I fight and that it will be alright," Felix said then.
After seven months, he had made so much progress that he was ready for a final operation. The skull bone was to be restored with an artificial bone flap.
"A Routine Procedure"
The day of the operation was a Tuesday in June. At the hospital in Linköping, the staff said it wouldn't take more than a couple of hours.
Sanna remembers them calling it "a routine procedure."
"The doctor told Felix: 'This should go well. You might not be able to cycle right away, but you'll be able to walk and run as soon as the stitches heal.'"
Felix was wheeled into the operating room. But the wait was much longer than the parents expected.
Five, six hours passed. They repeatedly asked why it was taking so long but received no answers.
Finally, they were allowed to see Felix in the recovery room.
"We came in and immediately felt that something had gone wrong," says Sanna.
Forced into Another Operation
Felix felt very ill, was in pain, and vomited. He only got worse during recovery.
A new scan showed air and fluid in the brain after the operation. Felix needed another emergency surgery.
What happened next, Sanna and Andreas describe as a complete darkness.
Felix was operated on and then lay sedated, connected to a ventilator, for several days. Day and night, they stayed in the room with him.
Finally, they received the news from the doctors: Felix's life could not be saved.
"Completely Incomprehensible"
On Saturday, June 14, Felix's heart beat its last.
"It's impossible to understand what we've been through. I still don't," says Sanna.
The shock of what happened overwhelms everything. Nights and days blend together.
"After everything we've been through, Felix was to have one last simple operation. And then this happens. It's completely incomprehensible," says Andreas.
To find out what went wrong during the operation and whether Felix was exposed to unnecessary risks, the parents have filed a complaint with the Health and Social Care Inspectorate, Ivo. The University Hospital in Linköping, where the operation was performed, will also investigate what went wrong.
"The investigation was initiated immediately and is now going through everything to see what happened," says Carina Folkesson, head of Neurosurgery at the University Hospital in Linköping.
"It's incredibly tragic, and everyone on the staff is deeply saddened by what happened, but I can't say much more until the investigation is complete."
House Full of Loved Ones
A small light in the darkness is that the house is rarely empty and quiet. Friends and family come over to talk, listen, cook, and ensure Sanna and Andreas don't fall apart.
"We've opened the door for everyone. We have very good friends. Thanks to our network, we've managed to eat a little," says Andreas.
A few days after the parents returned home from the hospital, a large tribute to Felix's memory was organized. Along the roads outside Jönköping, a long line of mopeds, cars, and epa-tractors formed.
Felix's peers organized the procession but didn't expect the turnout to be as large as it was.
In the dim evening light, over two hundred vehicles crawled along the roads in a long line. As they passed Felix's neighborhood, Sanna and Andreas stood by the roadside, watching everyone who came out to honor their Felix.
"It was absolutely fantastic," says Andreas.
"It was the finest thing that could happen now. Everyone did it in such a dignified way. It felt like an extreme outpouring of love," says Sanna.