"Bubble boy" Thomas Collins dies after being unable to return home to QLD
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<p>A young boy who struggled with an auto-immune disease for most of his life passed away on Saturday.</p>
<p>Thomas Collins was just 3 years old when he died after being diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) just days after he was born.</p>
<p>The deficiency means he has no ability to fight off diseases and makes the risk of infections life-threatening.</p>
<p>He spent 858 days in the hospital and was kept in a "plastic bubble" to stop him from catching diseases.</p>
<p>Tom's conditions worsened while in a Melbourne hospital and the young family weren't able to move back to Queensland for support from their other family members due to COVID-19 restrictions.</p>
<p>Tom's parents Leah and Morgan Collins have been fighting for their son to be let into Brisbane as he was nearing the end of his days but were unable to get a response from Queensland Health in time.</p>
<p>The reason the family were in Melbourne was due to a specialist in a Melbourne hospital being the only person who could deliver the treatment Tom needed.</p>
<p>The family shared their heartbreak on Facebook.</p>
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<p>“It is with deepest sorrow and fractured hearts that we tell you of Thomas’s passing this evening,” the Collins family posted on Facebook.</p>
<p>“He passed peacefully in the arms of his parents.</p>
<p>“Despite our best efforts we were unable to get him home to Queensland.</p>
<p>“No response from Qld was received in time. We understood the potential conditions were very distressing and would have separated our family during transport.</p>
<p>“We would then be forced to quarantine in the room he would have passed in as he was unlikely to survive 14 days quarantine.</p>
<p>“We chose to do what our son needed most, which was to be with his parents in a peaceful environment to the end. We were able to do that for him.”</p>
<p>“Sadly, we now have a choice between 14-day hotel quarantine, or wait 14 days south of the border to get back to Queensland, via NSW,” they said.</p>
<p>“We wished we could be surrounded by family during this time but this is the hand we have been dealt.”</p>
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