“You hear about meningitis, but not for a second did I think my son would get anything like it.”
“My little girl Harli had hand-foot-and-mouth disease (a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children) six days before my son Ellis contracted viral meningitis.
“Ellis had just turned one month old on the day he was admitted to hospital. He had slept for two days and was barely feeding and he felt like he had a high temperature.
“Two days after the first symptoms started I went to feed Ellis in the morning and noticed his tongue, lips and mouth had blisters and he was quite pale. I rang 111 who referred me to the nearest hospital as I was on holiday at the time.
Completed a lumbar puncture
“They saw Ellis in A&E and immediately did the sepsis procedure and completed a lumbar puncture. They found various strains of viruses through his system and he also had bronchiolitis. Over the waiting time he had spikes in temperatures and was just not himself.
“He was given an anti-viral and antibiotics before we knew what it was to make sure the infection levels would possibly go down if it was bacterial. He was discharged three days later and started to get better.
“I’m so thankful it wasn’t bacterial meningitis. You hear about meningitis, but not for a second did I think my son would get anything like it.
Back to his normal self
“He’s now coming up to four months old and had all his blood tests re-done to check his levels. He’s now back to his normal self, although it is hard because he’s been poorly a couple of times since having viral meningitis.
"You always think ‘What if this could be meningitis again?’ I always have to bring it up to doctors and nurses to make sure they know he’s had a history of it and to check it’s not the same thing. And to also reassure myself and my husband.
“Meningitis Now’s website and social media made a big difference when Ellis was ill. I always share posts relating to Meningitis Now so more people can be aware. Sharing posts about signs and symptoms so people can learn about meningitis and how to detect the symptoms is invaluable. If it’s saving someone’s life, then I’m all for it.”
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- Facebook: www.facebook.com/meningitisnow
- X, formerly Twitter: www.twitter.com/meningitisnow - @meningitisnow
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/meningitis_now - @meningitis_now
