26/03/2025
A HOSPITAL’S MISTAKE LEFT AN 8-WEEK- OLD BABY FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE
I just read something absolutely heartbreaking. 8-week-old baby Zohan in Glasgow was given 200mg of paracetamol instead of 20mg—ten times the correct dose—by a hospital. Now, he’s fighting for his life, and his parents, who are first-time parents, have been told he may have irreversible brain damage. I understand hospitals are under pressure, but this isn’t just a mistake—this is a preventable tragedy.
Reading this took me right back to when my daughter was admitted to the hospital with severe infected chickenpox—so bad that the doctors treating her had to seek help from a plastic surgeon. One day, a nurse came in with oral medication for her. Just as she was about to administer it, something in me told me to ask what it was. I normally wouldn’t question it, but I did.
She told me the name of the medication, and instantly, I knew my daughter wasn’t supposed to have it. The nurse didn’t like my questioning, but she asked me to confirm my daughter’s name and date of birth again. She then looked confused and embarrassed before quickly excusing herself. I later found out that the medication wasn’t meant for my daughter—it was for another child.
That 200mg overdose given to baby Zohan may have been meant for someone else too. A simple question could have prevented it. Most people do not question hospitals’ treatments because they trusted them but hospitals make mistakes too. Nurses and doctors are human.
Baby Zohan’s parents are first-time parents—trusting the hospital to do the right thing. But trust alone is not enough. We must always ask, always double-check, even if it annoys them.
I would rather be seen as annoying than live with regret. Please, speak up. Question everything. It could save a life.
My heart is with baby Zohan and his parents. I pray he pulls through. No family should ever have to go through this.