An international airline has left a South Australian mother feeling "helpless, hopeless and alone" after losing luggage that contains life-saving medication for her 13-year-old son.
Thomas Mattinson and his family have travelled to Copenhagen so he can represent Australia at the 25th World Games for frame running, hosted by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association.
"Tom has been race running for the last two years — something we never ever thought we would be able to do," his mother Rebecca Mattinson told ABC Radio Adelaide's Stacey Lee.
"It's been a life-changing experience for him."
But upon arrival to Denmark, Ms Mattinson said Singapore Airlines had lost all of their luggage — their suitcases containing his medication, his frame and his walker.
"We just had enough to get us by for five days and we've run out," she said.
On top of that, Ms Mattinson said the airline also damaged Tom's wheelchair.
"Singapore Airlines damaged the wheelchair, snapped the backrest, snapped off the brakes," she said.
"It was just a comedy of errors that you couldn't ever imagine would ever happen."
Not enough medication to fly home
Thomas, now 13, was born premature at 29 weeks. His mother said he acquired a brain injury after being resuscitated for six minutes. He also has epilepsy and type one diabetes.
"We have nothing left and even after two very long days in hospitals trying to find the medication, we couldn't actually get our hands on the things we need, even though they are designed and made here in Copenhagen," Ms Mattinson said.
"We don't even have enough to fly home.
Ms Mattinson has even joined a Facebook group for people with diabetes in Denmark to plead to people that if they have any of the equipment they are missing to share it with them.
She said the airline has promised them so many times that their luggage would turn up, but it has never arrived.
"We have had eight trips to the airport with absolutely no joy and really no-one can tell us where it is in the world," Ms Mattinson said.
"It's very stressful, it's certainly not how we imagined it to be.
In a statement, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said they "sincerely apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused to the Mattinson family".
