“A FAMILY VACATION ENDED IN UNIMAGINABLE HEARTBREAK.” What began as a simple stomachache turned into a devastating tragedy just days later, leaving a family mourning the sudden loss of their 5-year-old son. The heartbreaking case has raised questions about what happened in the days leading up to his passing.

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US News

Boy, 5, suddenly dies on family vacation just days after complaining of stomachache

A 5-year-old boy died suddenly while on a family vacation after a stomachache turned out to be an extremely rare disease.

“5 days in the hospital and he was gone,” said Terese Peden, the grieving mother of Justin Vu, in an interview with KDVR..

Denver-based Peden, her husband Viet Vu, and their children were in Oregon to visit family in late June when, on the fourth day of the trip, Justin complained of a stomachache, she said.

A young boy wearing a cap and tank top, sitting with his palms up.
5-year-old Justin Vu died after complaining of stomach pain on a family vacation.Courtesy Terese Peden and Viet Vu
A young boy with closed eyes rests in a hospital bed, wearing a green patterned shirt.
The boy spent 5 days in the hospital.Courtesy Terese Peden and Viet Vu

That quickly progressed into nausea and extreme lethargy and, on July 3, Peden took Justin to the hospital, where she said his condition worsened.

Doctors were stumped and initially thought it might be the boy’s appendix and transferred him to a Portland children’s hospital, before he was admitted into the ICU and put on life support.

Justin was eventually diagnosed with Systemic Capillary Leak Syndrome (SCLS), also known as Clarkson’s Disease, and passed away on July 8.

This is an extremely rare and grave medical condition where plasma leaks from the capillaries into the body’s tissue, causing severe swelling and blood pressure to drop.

Fewer than 500 cases of Clarkson’s disease have been reported worldwide since the 1960s, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

It is even rarer in children, and Justin’s death has left his family heartbroken.

A news image of parents, a man and a crying woman, with a banner below reading "5-YEAR-OLD DIES FROM CLARKSON'S DISEASE."
Justin’s blindsided parents discovered the child had a rare disease.KDVR

“We’re trying to figure out what life looks like now and taking it day by day,” Peden told FOX 31.

“We kind of had a mentality that we weren’t leaving there without him and so we really just fought. Us and our whole family were team Justin, and we held out hope until that next morning when they told us there was nothing they could really do,” she said.

A GoFundMe page set up to cover Justin’s medical and funeral expenses has already smashed its target of $35,000.

Vu also had a message for other parents in the wake of their grief.

“Don’t take it for granted. Try to cherish every moment you have with them,” he said.

“Every hug and every kiss because you don’t know when it’s going to be the last time is going to be,” Vu said.