Despite his health challenges, seven-year-old Hudson from Prince Edward Island hopes to return to playing hockey full-time thanks to the specialized care of the IWK.
After struggling to recover from pneumonia when he was two years old, Hudson was referred to a local pediatrician on the Island.
Initially, there were concerns that Hudson had asthma (a lung disease) due to his continuous breathing issues; however, when various treatment options were ineffective, and Hudson wasn’t getting full-time relief, he was referred to the IWK’s Respiratory Clinic for further investigation.
In November 2021, after an initial assessment with an IWK care team, Hudson started a new medication treatment plan that his care team and family hoped would help improve his health.
Unfortunately, during a trip to Halifax in April 2022, Hudson experienced a life-threatening emergency at the hotel. He woke up one morning and was having difficulty breathing. Shortly after, he stopped breathing, and his parents, Paige and Cody, quickly called an ambulance.
Hudson was taken to the IWK’s Emergency Department for urgent and life-saving care. They discovered Hudson had RSV, a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. He had to spend a few days at the IWK until he recovered and was well enough to return home.
Because Hudson continued to struggle with a cough and recover from colds, he was sent for additional tests, including a CT scan (imaging test) and a bronchoscopy, a procedure that lets doctors examine the lungs and air passages.
The results showed that although Hudson’s lungs are perfectly healthy, he has a syndrome called vascular tracheobronchial compression. This syndrome puts pressure on the trachea and may cause a cough, high-pitched wheezing, or shortness of breath.
Due to this condition, Hudson underwent a five-hour surgery at the IWK in early July 2024 to relieve the pressure and help improve his breathing to get him back to doing what he loves—playing hockey.
“We are so incredibly grateful for our IWK care team,” says Paige. “Hudson had a complex health history of symptoms that took a lot of collaboration.”
