A mother paid tribute last night to her ten-year-old son Sinclair, who died while being treated for an illness in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dina Ball said the family did not want to go into detail about the medical problem, but that it was not contagious, caused by an accident and was not due to an allergy.

The West Pembroke School student had been healthy until the end of September but then he started getting sick, and it left him in the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for five days in October before he was airlifted to America.

For six weeks the avid bowler and tap dancer was being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital until his sudden death on November 26.

Ms Ball said her son will always be remembered for his big smile and loving hugs.

She said: "We are a very, very close knit family and he was very close to his dad, his brothers and his sister, his nieces and cousins; he was his dad's buddy.

"He was a child (that) if you met him you had to speak to him. He always greeted you with a big hug and a kiss. He was very well-mannered.

"That was him; that was Sinclair. He was loved by his principal and school teachers. They thought the world of him. He was an average student and he liked science, music and PE.

"He was always healthy, but this started at the end of September and just gradually progressed until he passed away. He had problems with his skin.

"Even through his sickness he was very Sinclair. Even the nurses and doctors fell in love with him. They were all crying as much as we were.

"They wanted pictures of the family because he talked so much about his mother and father and sisters and brothers. We were supposed to go up and spend Christmas with him."

Born on August 27, 1998, to Dina and Sinclair Ball Sr, Sinclair was mature for his age, according to his family, and was always the warm welcoming young man seen smiling in the pictures.

He had three older siblings – brothers Wayne and Keyvon and sister Rickia – and went to Montessori Preparatory School for nursery and pre-school before attending Bridging the Gap Academy and then West Pembroke School.

The family was contemplating Dellwood Middle School next year for Sinclair, who would be graduating from West Pembroke School in the spring.

Every Saturday he would bowl with the Onion Seeds Bowling League and his father, while tap dancing was a passion he literally came home with one day after school.

He was an ice-cream fanatic, preferring vanilla and chocolate ripple, and his loving nature also extended to the pets that inundated his home – from fish to birds.

His mom said they had promised him a dog when they returned from the hospital, and they are still planning on getting one.

The family, she said, is making it through one day at a time – with the help of each other and their faith.

She added: "And dad's doing well. We are holding each other up. That's the importance of a good family nucleus.

"Something like this makes you put small, petty stuff aside and come together. (He and) his dad were very, very close and that's to me a blessing.

"They need their fathers and he was there. Sinclair was my responsibility and his dad's and we did not take that lightly. I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children.

"He was a big kid and I would tell him it's all right if you are big. I always boosted his self-esteem. I was proud of him and he was one impressive young man.

"We always tried to make him his own individual. Told him you don't have to please anybody else. Please God and make yourself happy.

"He was very mature and he was a good boy. Sometimes we wonder, 'Why did You take him?' All the violence in society and You took a good boy; someone who didn't bother anybody. But God knows better."

Today, West Pembroke School will be holding a half-day in honour of Sinclair whose home going service will be held at the Heritage Worship Centre, New Testament of God Church at 2 p.m.