A STUDENT died weeks after suffering migraines as medics cast him aside and brushed symptoms off as ‘anxiety’.
Johnny Alfrey, 22, raised concerns about his symptoms to doctors on several occasions before his death on June 24 last year.
“He was just a brilliant young man, so funny and a great big brother and a perfect son,” his mother, Julie Alfrey said.
“He never had a bad word to say about anybody. He was looking forward to the rest of his life and had big plans”.
In May 2021, the “talented” university student from Littleborough began feeling “seriously unwell’, Julie told an inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court.
Julie told the hearing that her “kind-hearted” and “gracious” son began complaining of fatigue and said he was experiencing “heaviness in his legs” when walking.
In the days that followed, she said he began vomiting and suffering migraines, the Manchester Evening News reported.
He was also struggling to sleep or eat – symptoms he initially believed were the result of panic attacks.
But according to Julie, while her son had experienced anxiety and panic attacks in the past, he knew how to control them.
Becoming increasingly concerned, she took Johnny to an urgent treatment centre at Rochdale Infirmary on May 23.
One doctor put Johnny’s symptoms down to alcohol withdrawal – a suggestion which she said left her son “frustrated and upset”.
She told the inquest he was not a heavy drinker but would “sometimes have a drink at the football with friends” once or twice a week.
But tests revealed Johnny had an irregular heart rhythm which medics decided was ‘probably fine’.
Johnny was sent to a hospital for a further assessment but while waiting for the ambulance to arrive his fingers and lips turned blue.
“I knew there was something wrong,” she said. “He was changing colour. He said a couple of times that he felt like he was going to die.”
Johnny was ‘encouraged to leave’ by a night nurse practitioner, who told him that if he went to the hospital he was ‘likely to be on a corridor overnight’.
Just two days later Johnny was in A&E where a nurse put his symptoms down to to ‘anxiety’.
During a visit to Rochdale Infirmary three days later, doctors informed Johnny that blood tests revealed he had an ‘abnormal liver function’ which doctors did nothing about.
Still unable to sleep or eat Johnny was admitted to hospital again on June 8.
MIGRAINES can ruin your day with intense pain and lead you to hide away in a dark room until they pass.
It is not totally clear what causes migraines, but hormonal changes in women, diet – including aged cheeses, wine, food additives, salty and processed foods – stress, medications and changes in sleep patterns can all bring one on.
If you suspect a specific trigger is causing your migraines, such as stress or a certain type of food, avoiding this may help reduce your risk of experiencing migraines.
It may also help to maintain a generally healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, sleep and meals, as well as ensuring you stay well hydrated and limiting your intake of caffeine and alcohol.
The exact cause of migraines is unknown, but they’re thought to be the result of abnormal brain activity temporarily affecting nerve signals, chemicals and blood vessels in the brain.
It’s not clear what causes this change in brain activity, but it’s possible that your genes make you more likely to experience migraines as a result of a specific trigger.
Migraine attacks can sometimes get worse over time, but they tend to gradually improve over many years for most people.
This time, Julie said doctors informed her that her son’s his liver had failed and ‘now his kidneys had taken a hit’.
“I think he knew he was dying,” said Julie. “He kept saying ‘put me out of my misery’.”
The inquest heard that Johnny’s condition continued to worsen and he was transferred to Wythenshawe Hospital, where he died on June 24.
At the hearing, Dr Adnan admitted that Johnny should have been seen by a cardiologist after an ECG carried out on May 30 after showed his irregular heart rhythm had got worse.
The focus at the time had instead been on Johnny’s liver function, he said.
The inquest continues.
