The family of a man who died less than two weeks after being treated for a urine infection have spoken of their devastation.
Ben Boyle first fell ill back in October after receiving his flu and Covid vaccines. His mum Gillian and stepdad Alan believed he was experiencing common side effects of the jabs.
But as his fatigue and shaking symptoms worsened, the pair realised his condition was more serious than they thought, prompting them to take him to a clinic.
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With no medics free to check Ben over, the 37-year-old was rushed to a hospital in Manchester where his family learned he had a urine infection.
But in a tragic turn of events, Ben developed sepsis just three days into his hospital stay. He then contracted a virus in his blood which caused endocarditis, a rare heart infection.
Ben was born with a very rare syndrome called Bardet-Biedl, a disorder which affects many parts of the body. The condition left Ben, who was raised in Whitefield, blind with moderate learning difficulties. He also had severe joint pains.
The condition meant Ben previously received a successful kidney transplant seven years ago. But the infection was causing his kidneys to fail – meaning he was retaining more than eight litres of fluid in his body.
Ben had an emergency line inserted to allow the fluid to drain through dialysis, a procedure to remove excess liquid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly.
Sadly, Ben’s condition continued to deteriorate and he passed away surrounded by his loved ones on November 5.
“The people that mattered were there with him,” Alan, 65, said. “We got his brother Jimmy on the phone on a video link so he could be with him from Spain. “He’s left our lives empty. It’s a massive void.”
Doctors haven’t been able to determine why Ben died but believe his cause of death could be linked to sepsis, endocarditis, heart failure or kidney failure. An inquest is set to open soon.
“We thought we would be in hospital for two to five days,” Alan added. “We thought we would be back home for the weekend.”
Tragically Gillian, who slept by Ben’s side for 13 nights on a hospital camp bed, lost another son to Bardet-Biedl syndrome several years ago.
“When we lost Andrew, we poured our love into Ben to give him as many experiences and treats as we could,” Alan added.
“Anything he wanted on his dream list, we kept adding to it. We managed to get him to Florida where he got to swim with dolphins.
“We were concentrating on giving Ben as many life experiences as possible and now we have time on our hands that we don’t know what to do with.”
Described as having an “incredible mind,” Ben loved WWE wrestling, football and rugby, watching cartoons and dance music.
He enjoyed going on holiday with his family and had to buy a football shirt from every country he visited. A fundraiser has now been set up for Ben’s family to help them pay for his funeral.
It reads: “The implications have just hit Gillian and Alan and the cost of a funeral is just part of this. They did try and take out insurance/funeral cover for Ben, but because he had been given a terminal life expectancy, this proved impossible.
“One thing I can say is if you were ever lucky enough to cross paths with Ben, he would have made an impression. Ben really lived life to the full. In the words of his favourite character, ‘forget about your worries and your strife’.
“Ben never once complained about how he was and endured around 50 procedures in his lifetime. He just wanted to be like everyone else and enjoy life.”
“He did so much in his short life,” Alan added. “Everyone he met said he had an amazing impact on them.”
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
