Colette, from Staffordshire, tells us about the journey to Arthur’s eventual diagnosis and recovery.
“It has taken four years for us to be able share our son Arthur’s story, but we want to raise awareness that the common symptoms of meningitis aren’t the only symptoms you should look out for.
Rash disappeared
“On an evening in January ‘19, when changing Arthur’s nappy, we noticed a rash on his skin. We sent photos of it to family members, but they reassured us they thought it was just a viral rash. We checked the rash under a glass, and it disappeared.
“The next morning Arthur woke as normal, and we bathed him. He seemed to cry more than usual but we didn’t think too much of it.
“That afternoon we went out for a meal. When we got home, we noticed Arthur was not himself at all. He had a temperature and the rash had gotten worse.
“We called 999 and, due to his age, they sent an ambulance out straight away. They checked Arthur over and explained they thought it was a viral rash and left.
Cry changed
“The next day we knew something still wasn’t right with Arthur. He slept a lot and his cry had changed. We decided to keep an eye on him and checked the rash under a glass, which again disappeared.
“By the evening Arthur’s symptoms were worse and light seemed to be affecting him, so we called 999. Paramedics came out and again weren’t concerned but, as it was the second time we had called, they decided to take him to the hospital to be checked over.
“On arrival at A&E we were told that Arthur would be checked over and then we could wait in the waiting room. But when a nurse came to look at Arthur, we were moved straight to a cubicle. We knew then that something was wrong.
Painful to talk about
“Little did we know that the nurse saved Arthur’s life. She called the doctors straight away to start him on IV antibiotics and moved him to a ward.
“The next day Arthur had a lumber puncture, and we were told he had meningitis.
“Arthur was only 10 weeks old, and they couldn’t say if he would make it or not.
“To this day it is so painful to talk about. However, we have always promised that we would raise awareness to make sure that other families pick up on it as early as we did.
Rash disappeared
“It is always said that if you put a glass over a rash and it doesn’t disappear you should be concerned. However, Arthur’s rash did disappear, and two sets of paramedics weren’t concerned.
“All I ask is that parents act on their own instincts. If you know something isn’t right with your child, please persist. If we hadn’t acted on our instincts, we wouldn’t have our baby boy with us now.”
