Jack Dunn was just 17 years-old when he suddenly started suffering from such intense stomach pains that he could not even walk. Jack’s parents rushed him to the hospital from their home in Porth,Wales where doctors diagnosed the boy with constipation.

Doctors prescribed Jack with laxatives, but his condition was far worse than anyone imagined. Just 24 hours after he was released from the hospital, Jack passed away.

Jack’s parents blame his doctors, saying that they did not take his stomach pains seriously, only scanning him for appendicitis.

“We took him to A&E and completely trusted the doctors in telling us what was wrong with him,” said Jack’s father Kieron. “He could barely walk he was in so much pain. He was given a bladder scan but it didn’t really show anything up. The doctor said he was baffled and believed Jack was suffering from nothing more than a bad bout of constipation.”

Doctors missed the fact that Jack actually had diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious condition that leaves the body unable to produce enough insulin. On top of that, the condition causes the body to produce an excessive amount of ketones or blood acids.

“When Jack was finding it difficult to breathe the doctor thought it was probably anxiety because Jack was anxious about being in the hospital,” Kieron said. “But him struggling to breathe was because his organs were closing down because of the ketoacidosis. Finding my son dead in his bed was the worst moment of my life. I believe Jack would be alive today if a few more simple tests had been carried out.”

The hardest thing for Jack’s family to handle is knowing that their son would be alive today if doctors had just given him a simple glucose test.

“Jack’s white blood cell count was up so that was an indicator something was going on in his body that wasn’t right,” Kieron said. “If they had tested him for ketones he would probably be alive today.”

His parents have decided to go public with Jack’s story in the hopes of ensuring that this does not happen to anyone else.

“My son was a healthy fit 17-year-old who was full of energy and life. I have to speak out both for Jack and our family which has been utterly devastated by his loss,” Kieron said. “People need to know what a deadly condition ketoacidosis is.”

Please keep Jack’s family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.