A teenager who collapsed and died from a rare form of pneumonia has been described as a “loving, generous and happy boy”.
Alex Mackie collapsed after getting up for a drink in the night.
His father, Colin, heard the “almighty clatter” and raced to his aid but despite giving him CPR before the paramedics arrived, Alex could not be revived.
Tests revealed the 14-year-old had contracted hemorrhagic pneumonia, a rare strain of the infection which attacks the lungs and sends blood into them.
Last night, Mr Mackie and his wife Lynsey said their lives had “changed overnight”.
The couple said Alex had been tired and appeared to be getting a cold.
Mr Mackie, 49, of Buchan Road, Fraserburgh, said: “Lynsey had gone to work on the Saturday and Alex had been tired, lying on the settee most of the day.
“He went to bed but came down for a drink at 11.30pm. I heard an almighty clatter and my first thought was that he had knocked the dishes.
“I went through and he was just lying flat on the floor. The first thing I did was roll him into the recovery position and call paramedics, who got here in record time, but told me on the phone to start chest compressions.”
The couple were later told that in 99% of hemorrhagic pneumonia cases, there are no symptoms and that it will be fatal.
Mrs Mackie, 38, said: “It’s very aggressive and in 12 hours it has you. There’s not even any symptoms, so if we had for some reason taken him to a doctor or nurse or A&E they would have said to give him pain medications and see how he is on Monday.
“A nurse friend told us there’s no way anyone could have known. It was such a shock.”
The Fraserburgh Academy pupil was last night described as an “easygoing” and “typical teenager” who hoped to get into computing in the future.
Mrs Mackie said: “He was just our Alex.
He was such a loving, generous and happy boy – those are the three words I would use to describe him. He was never one for getting ill – he was always enjoying things.”
At nursery, it was noticed that Alex had “quirks” and he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome which causes difficulties in social interaction and certain behaviours.
Mrs Mackie said her son was determined however, adding: “He struggled to go into public toilets so that made days out quite interesting sometimes.
“He couldn’t tie his shoelaces and was late to ride his bike – he learned so he could be like his friends in academy.”
He got a place at Sandhaven School where he “blossomed”, loving the classes so much that when the time came to move to Fraserburgh Academy he was in full-time mainstream education.
Settling into academy, he had 100% attendance and found the Assembly of God (AOG).
His parents joked he would have gone every day if he could.
Mr Mackie, who works with Aberdeenshire Council landscaping services, said: “When the AOG were in school we would often get a text asking why Alex was late when really he had gone straight to see the AOG group.
“We couldn’t have asked for better people for him – the youth leader even said at his funeral that he was more of a friend.”
Alex also enjoyed spending time with his six-year-old brother Jack.
Mrs Mackie said: “They would still play together if they were in the car of if they liked the same thing on the PlayStation.
“Jack has been amazing. It has been hard hearing him explain to his friends that his brother isn’t here any more but we’ve been very open with him and he’s doing well.
“Alex loved animals. We got our dog Billy as a puppy when he was about four, and he had a stuffed dog called Billy Pup which Jack has now.”
The family has now also adopted three-year-old collie Rocky to help them keep busy.
Overwhelming support after son’s sudden death
The family admitted they had been “overwhelmed” by the support of the local community following Alex’s death.
Family friend Ann-Marie Murison launched a Crowdfunder to help cover the costs of the funeral and loss of earnings, with the total quickly hitting more than £6,700.
Alex’s mum Lynsey Mackie said: “Anne-Marie had text me on the Sunday about starting a fundraising page and my head was all over the place so I just said ‘yeah, go ahead’ thinking nothing of it.
“I thought maybe close friends and family would give something.
“But the target was £1,000 and that was on in an hour, £2,000 was done in a day and it just kept going.
“It grew a life of its own, it was astounding, we were so overwhelmed. It really has helped us get everything sorted.”
Members of Alex’s Assembly of God group also rallied around, while with friends and family also dropping off food parcels.
More than 400 people attended Alex’s funeral, much to his parents’ amazement.
Mrs Mackie said: “We didn’t realise how many lives he had touched but we put on a bus to the graveside so his friends could easily come to say goodbye.
“We’re now in talks with the academy to have a memorial cup for Alex which will go to the first to third year student for kindness or helping out.”
It will be presented for the first time at this year’s prizegiving.
Hemorrhagic pneumonia very rare but deadly
Hemorrhagic pneumonia is a rare strain of the infection which causes blood to go into the lungs.
Pneumonia itself is a swelling of the air sacks in the lungs when they fill with fluid.
This is usually caused by a bacterial infection and affects about 1% of adults in the UK each year according to the NHS.
Symptoms can develop suddenly over a day or two or can appear slowly and include a cough, breathing difficulties, breathlessness, rapid heart rate, high temperature, feeling unwell, sweating and shivering, loss of appetite and chest pain.
Less common symptoms include fatigue, headaches, coughing up blood, feeling sick, wheezing and joint or muscle pain.
Severe side affects can be rapid breathing, chest pain or confusion, in which cases urgent medical attention should be sought.
There are many types of pneumonia which can range in severity but advice is to always take it seriously if diagnosed with it.
