Nine-year-old Harvey boy Glenn Pulgadas dies from mosquito bite while on holiday in Philippines with parents

A nine-year-old boy from the State’s south has tragically died from a mosquito bite while holidaying in Asia with his distraught parents. Harvey boy Glenn Pulgadas died on Thursday morning after he caught dengue fever from the bite while in the Philippines, where he and his parents were finally seeing extended family after COVID lockdowns and travel bans continually delaying the trip. The vacation took a turn two weeks into the Pulgadas family holiday when Glenn began developing symptoms of the mosquito-borne virus. After battling for a fortnight, Glenn died in hospital on Thursday morning, his parents by his side. The family should have been returning home to Harvey this Friday, but are instead facing medical bills of close to $30,000 as they prepare for their only child’s funeral. Dengue fever is endemic in the Philippines, the World Health Organisation’s most recent report outlining 27,686 dengue cases and 150 deaths between 1 January and 14 May, 2022. Glenn developed severe flu-like symptoms, his parents Ryza and Glenn (senior) rushing him to their local hospital in Don Carlos, where doctors confirmed he had contracted the deadly virus. After four days of treatment, Glenn’s condition deteriorated and he was transferred to the Madonna and Child Hospital in the major city of Cagayan de Oro, four hours drive from the family’s hometown. Despite the best efforts by medical staff, Glenn’s condition deteriorated again, doctors having to intubate him and place him on a ventilator to keep him breathing. The tight-knit community of Harvey had been sending messages of love and support to the Pulgadas family, the Filipino Catholic community especially rallying behind the family, including the parish priest. Glenn was in a semi-conscious state on Wednesday, August 24, when Father Jess Navarra spoke to Mrs Pulgadas and Glenn on the phone, letting them know the entire town was behind them. “I asked Ryza to put the phone on speaker and place it on the bed so I could tell Glenn how the community was sending him their prayers,” Father Jess said. “I said, everyone in Harvey is praying for you, and we can’t wait for you to come back so we can celebrate your sacrament.” A Year 3 student at St Anne’s School in Harvey, Glenn had been preparing for his first communion with his classmates before going on holiday. By the Wednesday evening, Glenn’s organs had started to shut down, doctors telling Mr and Mrs Pulgado to prepare themselves for the worst. Glenn died early Thursday morning, his parents devastated at losing their only child. Father Jess spoke to Mrs Pulgado again on Thursday as she was preparing to take Glenn’s body back to Don Carlos, the town she and Mr Pulgados grew up in before making a new life for themselves in Harvey. Despite the tragic loss of their son, the couple now face a hospital bill of more than one million pesos, which is about $30,000 Australian Dollars. The school community was devastated by the loss, but staff, students and the greater Harvey community acted quickly to help the Pulgados family in their time of need. School deputy principal Danielle Zarzycki started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to cover the family’s unexpected medical and funeral expenses. Within days the page had raised more than $2000, the tally now sitting at $7,950. “Glenn was such a happy, caring and sweet boy. He was always smiling,” Ms Zarzycki said. “It is what people do in country towns, we pull together and help out when someone needs us.” Father Jess held his usual Saturday evening service at Our Lady of Immigrants Catholic Church in Harvey, but was overwhelmed by the number of people who had shown up to pay their respects to Glenn at his local church. “About 150 people were at the service,” he said. “I was overwhelmed and touched that so many people came. “The impact this has had on the children and classmates has been devastating.” Father Jess spoke to Glenn’s parents again on Tuesday, who were overwhelmed by the support they had received from their adopted home of Harvey. “They are overwhelmed by the support they have received from the Harvey community,” he said. Glenn’s funeral will be held in Don Carlos on September 10, where his family will stay for another 40 days as part of their cultural mourning.