He went on to make a good recovery and is now a happy and healthy boy. Laura, from Sheffield, tells their story here.
“Declan was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis two days after being born in May 2018. The hospital has said he contracted meningitis through an infection I caught during labour. When he was born through an emergency c section Declan cried straight away but it was a strange cry, like a bird hawking.
Collapsed lung
“When he went to be checked over the doctors and nurses realised he was grunting and had a collapsed lung. Straight away they put Declan on antibiotics and the next day they did a lumbar puncture, which confirmed he had bacterial meningitis. He was then moved to SBCU to have a long line put in and started a two-week course of antibiotics.
Caught it early
“Luckily, because the hospital caught it so early, Declan came home two weeks later and is a healthy and happy baby now. He just has to have six-monthly check ups at the hospital, but so far so good.
"I emailed Meningitis Now as I wasn’t clear on the after-effects and they were able to put my mind at ease. It has made us all more aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis as we all thought it was a rash and that was it.
“I’m now keen to raise awareness and I’ve also raised over £200 through the Jog On challenge in September.”
