“My Son Almost Bled To Death Because Of Stomachache”

His repeated episodes of stomachache were mistaken for constipation and masked his undiagnosed medical condition. One mum shares the harrowing experience with EVELINE GAN.

- Eveline Gan

For three weeks, little Zayden Tok had an on-and-off stomachache that was so intense, it would wake him in the middle of the night.

His mum, Tan Zilan, also noticed something unusual about his stools; they were purplish-red in colour and coated with mucus.

Despite raising her concerns to a paediatrician, she was told that it was “just constipation colic”.

“We gave him prune juice and stool softeners, rubbed Ruyi oil and applied garlic paste on his stomach, but the pain persisted,” the 35-year-old logistics executive recounts. She took her toddler to see the same doctor three times.

But what was thought to be constipation almost killed Zayden, then two, who was in fact, bleeding internally from a condition known as Meckel’s diverticulum. This is due to an abnormal bulge or pouch in the small intestine that is present at birth.

Zayden ended up getting two blood transfusions and had to undergo surgery that left him with a 7 to 8cm-long scar.

Gut instinct saved her son’s life

By sharing her child’s health scare, Zilan hopes to warn other parents not to take their little ones’ stomachache complaints lightly. 

In September last year, Zayden was at his grandma’s house when he started having one of his episodes of intense tummy pain.

“He asked for Ruyi oil, then started crying very loudly. The pain seemed worse than usual. When the pain subsided, we could see he was thoroughly exhausted and his whole face had turned very white,” says Zilan, who has a younger son aged one.

This time, maternal instinct spurred her to send Zayden to Mount Alvernia Hospital’s emergency department. That decision saved his life.

Noting that the toddler had looked very pale, the doctor ordered a blood test.