My son Liam was a wonderful boy who touched the hearts of many people.
Liam sadly and very suddenly passed away on Tuesday 16th December 2008, and this has left a huge whole in our lives.
Liam loved life, he was part of a loving family, and had many friends. Liam was cheeky but always respectful, being able to communicate with younger children and adults alike. Liam loved music, cricket and football.
His favourite team was Everton FC, for whom he was once a mascot.
Liam was a promising goalkeeper and played on Saturdays and Sundays. He once had trials for Wigan Athletic and Blackpool FC. He always wanted to be a professional footballer but had said if he didn’t make it he would like to become an architect.
In June 2008 he collapsed during football training and was taken to hospital where he was kept in overnight. Doctors did a scan and an ECG but could not detect anything in particular.
We went on holiday at the beginning of August, and when we returned Liam had to attend a follow up appointment at the hospital. During the follow up appointment the scan was showing something the Doctors were concerned about, so they arranged the following week (1st week in Sept) for Liam to have an Angiogram and a camera down his throat to look at the back of his heart.
The test results revealed Liam had been born with an unusual origin of his coronary artery, putting him at an increased risk of blackouts or chest pain when he exerted himself. He was put on a waiting list for surgical repair (open heart surgery) and told he could not participate in any exertion or physical activity.
Liam had the surgery which involved moving the coronary artery to the correct place the last week in October, and within four days was out of hospital and on the road to recovery. The hospital told us the operation had been a success.
Liam recovered remarkably quickly and returned to school at the beginning of December.
On December 16th, the day he died, Liam was out having a kick about with his friends but felt unwell so they took him home. When Liam arrived home he vomited and we put it down to a bug of some kind. When ran Liam a bath and he seemed fine, although during his bath he did say he felt tired and wanted to go and lie down. When he got out of the bath he collapsed and fell into his mother’s arms.
We quickly moved him into the bedroom, but despite attempts at CPR by our neighbour, the paramedics, and the hospital, Liam’s heart had stopped, and there was no way to revive him.
A post mortem failed to disclose the cause of death and we are currently awaiting the results of further tests to find out why he died.
Liam’s funeral took place on Christmas Eve and over 400 people said goodbye to our little star, the person that we all looked up to.
Life will never be the same again for us without Liam. He had such a presence, always joking, full of fun and laughter. The house is now so quiet without him, none of his music playing, no tapping of the computer keyboard, no sounds from the X-box. I don’t know how we will cope in the future, though I know we must for Jenna.
Family and friends have been fantastic, and we want to thank them all for everything they have done for us, and all the love and support we have received. I don’t know how we would have coped without you. To all Liam’s friends you have been amazing. Keep strong, be happy & never forget Liam Ross.
To Liam, you are the brightest star in the sky, but your absence makes us cry. We will always love you, and never ever forget you.
Love Mum, Dad and Jenna
xxxx
