The parents of a Perthshire toddler who died after his family waited almost 50 minutes for an ambulance are to visit a consultant to establish whether they passed on a genetic condition that could have led to his death.
Martin (32) and Lisa Gray (33), of Crieff, will visit a consultant at Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI) later this month to clarify if they passed on a gene mutation to three-year-old Martyn.
If the results prove positive the couple’s other three children, Chloe (13), Luke (10) and Caleb (7), will then undergo tests.
Martyn tragically passed away on April 30 last year after taking ill at his family’s previous home on the outskirts of Crieff.
At the time paramedics were on a break and this resulted in an ambulance having to make the 25-mile journey from Stirling. The driver had difficulty finding the Grays’ home and the couple had to give him directions over the phone.
Mr Gray explained why he and his wife are to visit the consultant.
”We will be going to see a consultant at PRI to discuss this possibility of the gene matter,” he told The Courier. ”A sample of Martyn’s brain tissue was kept, so that will be looked into. Seemingly Martyn’s seizure had something to do with genetics and gene changes, so this will establish whether he had gone through a change.
”Or it will show that this is something that neither Lisa nor me knew about. We will see if one of us passed this on to Martyn. If that is the case, then the other kids will be tested.”
Mr Gray also expressed his pleasure at the change in conditions for ambulance crews which means that control room operators can now contact crews during their breaks.
”We had met with Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, regarding this and she held up her end of the bargain as far as we were concerned,” he added.
The anniversary of Martyn’s death is approaching and part of the healing process has been helped by the family moving house to Crieff.
”My wife hardly slept in our previous house she was lucky if she got two hours a night,” Mr Gray said. ”We moved in October and it has made a big difference to us.”