His devastated parents hope to spread awareness of his condition
Hudson Martin died just before his 3rd birthday from Kawasaki disease(Image: Damien Martin)
Parents have paid tribute to their fearless and joyful toddler who died suddenly last week while playing at home in Bristol.
Hudson Martin from Knowle was just weeks from celebrating his third birthday when he collapsed on Thursday, January 8.
The little boy had been diagnosed with Kawasaki disease aged seven months after developing flu-like symptoms, but his family said he had gone on to live a normal and happy life since then.
His dad Damien Martin, 40, said: “You’d never know anything was wrong from pictures or videos.
“He bounced off everything. He loved climbing, dancing, music, he was a proper daredevil.”
Kawasaki is a rare illness that often presents with common symptoms including fever, rash, red eyes and swollen hands and feet, but also causes inflammation in the blood vessels and can affect the supply of blood to the heart in serious cases.
Other symptoms include pink eye, cracked lips, ‘strawberry tongue’, swollen glands and a swollen rash on the tummy.
Hudson was eventually diagnosed when his parents realised “something is not right”, and was placed on lifelong medication including aspirin and blood thinners to reduce the risk of clots.
Hudson with his brothers(Image: Damien Martin)
He bruised easily and occasionally suffered nose bleeds because of his medication, but he otherwise lived an active life.
His mum Natalie Smith, 39, said: “He wanted to do everything himself – he climbed the highest slides, bounced constantly, and had the biggest personality. He was just full of life.”
His parents were trained to give injections, regularly monitor his blood levels at home and perform CPR – a skill that Natalie sadly had to put into action last Thursday.
Hudson had been playing downstairs as normal when, even at just two years old, he noticed something was not right.
He had tried to take himself upstairs to get help from his mum before suddenly collapsing.
Paramedics and specialist teams attended, working for over an hour to try to save him, said his parents.
“They did absolutely everything they could,” Damien said. “His heart just wouldn’t come back.”
Hudson died at home that day, leaving his devastated parents, his older siblings Kieran, 22, and twin brothers Ashton and Preston, nine.
“He’s at the BRI at the moment in the Rainbow Room,” he said. “We go and see him every day. Our house is just so quiet now.”
Despite their grief, the family already know that they want Hudson’s story to raise awareness of Kawasaki disease and its symptoms, as sometimes even medical professionals do not recognise the warning signs.
When Hudson became poorly as a baby, he was initially taken to the GP and later to hospital, where doctors initially considered illnesses such as measles before Kawasaki disease was even mentioned.
Damien was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease at 7 months old(Image: Damien Martin)
Hudson’s parents explained that there is no single test to diagnose Kawasaki disease and instead doctors must rule out other conditions first as a process of elimination.
“He was deteriorating day by day [before he was first diagnosed], and pretty much ended up laying in bed, not moving,” said Damien.
“All they were doing was taking blood, doing tests, that’s all they could do,” he added.
Doctors explained to his parents that Kawasaki disease is usually diagnosed after a child has had a persistent fever for five days. Hudson had only had a fever for three days, which delayed treatment, despite him showing almost all the other symptoms.
“It took someone coming in and saying, ‘He’s got all the symptoms, why hasn’t he been treated for Kawasaki disease?’ Natalie said.
Hudson was given intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment twice, as well as infliximab.
He did slowly began to improve, waking up, moving and eating again, but his blood results remained high.
“His numbers weren’t coming back down to where they should be, and even though he was up showing signs that he was well, he was waking up, he was moving around and he started eating, the doctors every day kept coming in with bad news and saying there was nothing they could do, his numbers aren’t moving,” Damien said.
“They were basically preparing us and saying he was not going to make it.”
He remained in hospital for around five weeks until October 2024. Although his condition hugely improved, Hudson’s disease had caused severe damage to his coronary arteries.
Hudson Martin died just before his 3rd birthday from Kawasaki disease(Image: Damien Martin)
“They were so stretched from the Kawasaki and he is actually one of the rarest cases – no-one’s have been as big as his, pretty much,” Natalie said. “His heart itself was strong, but the arteries were badly affected.”
Hudson was under the care of specialist cardiology teams, with doctors consulting experts across the UK and abroad, including Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Although heart transplantation was discussed to manage the impact, specialists ultimately decided Hudson was not eligible because his heart muscle was functioning normally.
“His last appointment was in August,” Natalie said. “We were told they’d keep an eye on some changes seen on his scan, but after that, nothing happened. We chased it, but it just fell through.”
Hudson was taken to Southampton for a post-mortem examination following his death, but his parents have been told it could take up to a year to receive full results.
“We don’t know what happened,” Natalie said. “It could have been a clot, a rupture — we just don’t know. That’s the hardest part.”
Hudson with his parents and older twin brothers(Image: Damien Martin)
They are urging parents to trust their instincts and push for further checks if something does not feel right.
Natalie said: “We didn’t take him anywhere [when he was first diagnosed at seven months], we didn’t get him to the doctors or anything and I just thought, we’ll give him Calpol overnight, but none of it worked.
“When I did take him to the doctor there were two points where they were going to send him home, and it wasn’t until I questioned it and said, are you sure, there’s something not right?”
Damien and Natalie have encouraged other parents to familiarise themselves with the symptoms of Kawasaki and to be aware of how similar the symptoms are to the regular flu.
The parents added: “People should push for it, if parents can see the symptoms, and be more aware of what to look for, they can question professionals a little bit more.
“It’s rare and sometimes professionals just don’t know enough about it.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs, with any remaining funds to be donated to charities that support families affected by Kawasaki disease. So far more than £9,000 has been donated.
Hudson’s dad says he’s on a mission to raise awareness and has highlighted that January marks ‘Kawasaki month’ and that January 26 is International Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day.
This year, Societi, a UK Foundation charity dedicated to helping raise awareness of the disease, is lighting up over one hundred landmarks across the UK, including Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, where he hopes he can attend to continue raising awareness.