Egerton: Parents' shock at quick decline of son's health

An inquest is taking place into the death of former Turton School and sixth form pupil Cameron “Cam” Duxbury who died on October 27, 2020, from ulcerative colitis.

He was diagnosed just six weeks before his death, undergoing surgery to prolong his life.

His parents Nigel and Cherise Duxbury, from Egerton, tearfully placed a photograph on the table in front of them, while Cherise kissed the photograph, during the hearing, which started yesterday.

Cam was hugely into sports, and football was a huge part of his life and playing for many local clubs, including Bromley Cross FC, the inquest heard.

In a statement, Mr Duxbury said his son loved his fitness and was “very healthy” and he was described as “somebody on the road to achieving his potential”.

Cameron with his sister Caitlin (left) and mum, Cherise, and dad Nigel

Speaking during the inquest, his mum said: “Cam was an amazing son.

“He loved life and surrounded himself with a good group of friends.”

His parents said that Cam was also passionate about music and enjoyed going to festivals, such as Parklife and Leeds festival.

Questions were raised by the family as to whether the illness could have been picked up sooner, and therefore treatment could have started earlier.

Mr Duxbury says that for several weeks before going to the doctor Cam said there was not anything the matter, and so the family kept an eye on him.

In August 2020 that Cam said that he “started to feel unwell”.

In a statement from Nigel, he said: “Our immediate thought was he had Covid, and that’s initially what started the journey for us.

“We came home after getting a test and expected it to fully come back positive.

Cameron with his mum Cherise

“On August 28 the test came back negative, and we made a face-to-face appointment.”

From the period Cam became ill he had lost weight, had loss of appetite, mouth ulcers, and became fatigued and was “passing blood”.

Cam attended an assessment with his GP Dr Lawrence Wong on September 2 due to his symptoms, and he was referred to a specialist gastroenterologist.

However, Mr Duxbury became particularly concerned when Cam was feeling especially tired whilst working from home in September, where he was “sleeping” in the daytime.

And Cam had an appointment two weeks after his previous appointment, which prompted Dr Wong to escalate this as an urgent referral for what he belived to be Inflammatory bowel disease.

He said: “When I first saw him on September 2 with his history and examinations there was no indication he needed to be seen in A&E and he needed to be seen by a specialist.

“The fact he continued having the symptoms and they were more frequent on the second appointment was concerning.”

Cameron with his dad Nigel

Mrs Duxbury says that on September 16 they were still “waiting” for an appointment with the hospital, and due to his symptoms worsening she took him to the hospital on September 25.

The family say that they were first told on October 2 that Cam “could have CMV gastroenteritis/colitis”, but that doctors were trying to get on top of the condition, stop the bleeding and prevent an operation to remove the bowel.

Mr Duxbury said: “In the morning [October 5] we were told the medication had worked and he had been to the loo and there was no blood since the first time he was in there.

“Dr Singh said later that day we are going to have to operate because and have to remove the bowel.

“We really just want to know if that’s right and why he didn’t respond clinically to the medication.”

But sadly, Cam’s condition continued to worsen, with his temperature spiking and on Saturday October 23, his parents were ‘shocked’ by Cam’s condition.

Mr Duxbury said: “Two doctors came out and when Cam came out this was the biggest shock ever when they pushed him out in a wheelchair.

“I couldn’t believe the condition he was in.”

Pathologist Dr Patrick Waugh gave the medical cause of death as multiple organ failure due to ulcerative colitis (also known as a type of inflammatory bowel disease), due to systemic manifestations of vasculitis.

More questions are expected to be raised around other autoimmune conditions found in the toxicology including pyoderma gangrenosum, as well as the treatment of his condition and loss in weight.

The inquest continues.