Parents’ tribute to little adopted son Daniel, 3
12:20pm Friday 4th September 2009 in Your Town
A GRIEVING mum and dad have paid tribute to their three-year-old son who died just three days after they adopted him.
Daniel Burroughs, who suffered from a string of health problems since his premature birth in March 2005, died in hospital 12 months ago. An inquest into his death was held yesterday.
Julie Burroughs, aged 43, of Ridyard Street, Walkden, said: “Since he was born, Daniel overcame so many problems and became an extremely happy little boy. He was loved by the whole family and he gave a lot of love to everyone he knew.”
The inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court heard Daniel was born 14 weeks premature and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease and hydrocephaly.
He spent the first months of his life in hospital and when his father left, his mother felt she could not support Daniel on her own.
Mrs Burroughs, aged 47, has been fostering for 21 years, and her husband Stephen, took Daniel home to live with them in September 2006.
For the first few months in his new home, he suffered from several chest infections and was also regularly sick.
In September 2007, he had an operation to remove a cyst and his condition improved. However, in August 2008, he fell ill and was taken to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Doctors carried out several tests and discharged him from hospital believing he was getting better.
A week later, the Burroughs went to court when they finally adopted Daniel.
But two days after that, he fell ill again. His parents took him to hospital but the next day, on September 1, he died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.
Mrs Burroughs added: “He is missed greatly every day. People use the title of disability a lot, but we never concentrated on that, we concentrated on his abilities.
“One hundred and fifty people turned up at his funeral. That’s how many lives he touched in such a short time.”
Mr Burroughs said: “Daniel came to us and even though we fostered him at first, he soon became part of our family. His death was such a shock.
“As a family we have just got to support each other. We have all got happy memories of him and no one can take that away from us.”
Deputy coroner Alan Walsh recorded a verdict of death by natural causes, the cause of which cannot be ascertained.
steven.thompson@ theboltonnews.co.uk
