Grant Farrell tragically passed away on Thanksgiving morning, a week before his fourth birthday and a couple of days after his mom found him unresponsive in their bathtub, according to KCTV.
Overland Park cops responded to the Village at Lionsgate Apartments in Overland Park for what they described as a possible drowning shortly after 7 p.m. on November 22. A week later, the police confirmed that the kid had since died.
Public Information Officer John Lacy released a statement, saying the death of Farrell appears accidental, but their investigation remains open pending his autopsy results.
Grant's death may have been caused by febrile seizure
One person who is heartbroken by Farrell's death is Mikaela Haendler. She is a director at the daycare center that the young boy attended. She saw Grant every day since he was an infant and described the child as a spitfire.
Haendler affectionately said that as wild and crazy as he was, Grant was just as loving. She added that he got lots of hugs, lots of sass, and lots of smiles. Alli Browne, who works as an obstetrics nurse with Grant's mom, said that he passed on Thanksgiving, on the holidays. She added that it is every mother's absolute worst nightmare.
Browne said that Grant's mother had briefly stepped away from the bathtub to tend to her newborn. She added that it puts her in the mindset that it could happen to any of them because she does not think that any parent can say that they have not had their almost 4-year-old child in a bathtub and stepped away for a second.
Grant's family has speculated that the boy suffered a febrile seizure brought upon by Influenza A while in the tub, which they did not even know he had until after his medical emergency.
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GoFundMe page created for Grant's fund
Dr. Shawn Sood, MD, did not treat Farrell, but he said a fever related to the flu and other viruses could lower the child's threshold to have a seizure. Unfortunately, Sood has seen this many times in his career, and febrile seizures, especially in a tub, can lead to devastating consequences.
The pediatric critical care doctor remarked that many parents are unaware of how serious flu complications can be in young kids. Some signs that the child's condition is serious include: a fever above 100.4, not responding to Tylenol, labored breathing, and confusion or lethargy.
Grant's mom is a single mother with three other kids to care for and now comfort, all while planning a funeral for Grant and dealing with grief due to his death. The grieving mom's coworkers have rallied to raise more than $19,000 via a GoFundMe page created to help with the family's expenses.
