Despite it being touch and go for a while Harry has bounced back with no long-term problems. Kelly recounts their story here.
“My son Harry was 4 and I picked him up from nursery as normal.
“Later at home he was complaining of an achy leg. I just put it down to flu/cold. By early evening his hands and feet were very cold and he was vomiting. I gave him Calpol and slept in his room with him that night and he slept fine.
“In the morning he was very lethargic and as I took off his pyjamas I saw he was covered in ‘the rash’.
“I knew straight away what it was, but still did the tumbler test and the rash stayed. By this time my son was unresponsive. My husband phone 999 and an ambulance came straight away and took him to A and E.
“They treated him for meningitis. He was ventilated and sedated and had tubes and lines coming out from all over his body. He was transferred to a hospital that had an intensive care for children and that's where he stayed for seven days.
Touch and go
“The first 48 hours were very touch and go. No one could say what the outcome was going to be.
“Fortunately he started to improve and gradually his meds were reduced. He had a lumbar puncture performed to determine what strain he had and it came back that he had MenB.
“Harry's recovery was long as he had a lot of treatment on his body from what the rash had left behind and underwent an op to remove his finger which had died. Harry lost ever such a lot of weight and had to have physio as he was unable to walk and had to learn again to do so.
“It's been seven years since this awful disease tried to take my son. My family and I are very very proud to have such a strong child. He is now an amazing young lad who has no long-term problems and has learnt very quickly to deal with the loss of his finger. But unfortunately this isn't always the case.”
