Melbourne mum Kathryn Ram has opened up about grief and healing after the tragic death of her toddler son, Isaiah.
In an exclusive interview with BACKCOVERNEWS.COM, Ram has spoken about her struggle to find forgiveness after little Isaiah died following a harrowing two-hour wait inside a Victorian emergency room.
It was September 2018 when Ram’s world was turned upside down. Isaiah, a vibrant and healthy two-year-old, suddenly fell ill with a mild fever which became progressively worse, igniting parental instincts that something was amiss.
After multiple frantic calls for an ambulance, Ram and her husband watched in desperation as paramedics assured them it was merely a fever, advising against hospitalisation. Tragically, two days later, the toddler was dead.
“It changes you completely,” Ram said, her voice laced with the weight of grief. “Your whole life shatters.”
Compounding the anguish, Ram found herself navigating the tumult of grief while eight months pregnant with her second child, a baby girl.
“You’ve just buried your son and then not even a month later, you’ve got this newborn baby in your hands,” she shared, recounting the intricate dance between mourning and motherhood.
“You’re trying to grieve and you’re trying to enjoy this new child in your arms… grief is extremely hard.”
Yet, amid the darkness, Ram’s resolve burns bright. She speaks of the haunting regret stemming from trusting paramedics’ reassurances, a decision that would forever alter the course of her life.
As little Isaiah’s condition worsened, they sought aid from their local GP, only to encounter further delays in hospital admission—a tragic sequence that highlights systemic failures within Victoria’s broken healthcare system.
In the wake of Isaiah’s passing, Ram’s advocacy transcends personal tragedy, amplifying the voices of those silenced by preventable healthcare lapses.
Recent statistics paint a stark reality, with a surge in preventable deaths and harm plaguing Victorian hospitals, particularly among children.
In 2021/22, the state of Victoria documented 240 sentinel events, marking a 43% increase from the previous year.
In response, the Victorian Government last year launched a new support service as part of the long-running Safer Care for Kids initiative, aimed at empowering families to voice concerns and catalysing systemic reforms.
Yet, for Ram, the scars of loss run deep. Nearly six years on, she suffers from insomnia, a relentless reminder of the night her world shattered.
“I haven’t had a rest ever since the night that my son passed away,” she said.
A Victorian Government spokesperson told BACKCOVERNEWS.COM that the support service is designed to give families peace of mind.
“Any death is a tragedy, particularly that of a child, and our thoughts are with the families who are suffering unthinkable grief,” they said.
“Our new Safer Care for Kids initiative will give children and their families and carers a voice so they can more easily raise their concerns with health workers if they notice worrying changes in their child’s health.”
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW
