“We took Mason in to the hospital due to his temperature and him being sleepy.
"Nobody knew that he had meningitis. We were sent to a ward due to his temperature and within 40 minutes he was having seizures and his temp was going up and up.
“One doctor wanted to do a CT scan which didn't show anything. Then he suggested doing a lumbar puncture, which came back as the worst we could have expected.
“During these few hours Mason’s health got worse, to the stage he was in HCU. They started treatment for meningitis but over the next few days he did not respond to treatment.
Responded to treatment
“Mason then got rushed to Sheffield Hospital to have a PICC line fitted to his heart as the cannula kept bursting. He had 15 in two days, one of which punctured his foot where, at this point, the rash was taking over his feet. Luckily after a week Mason responded to treatment and was very lucky to keep his left foot.
“Mason is a year on from meningitis but it has left him with after-effects. He is now nearly deaf with only slight hearing. Mason also has slight brain damage and learning difficulties and he has had to have a skin graft on his left foot. He still has the odd seizure due to this.
“All the doctors said if we hadn’t taken him to hospital when we did he wouldn't have made it. I just want to share my storey as Mason had no symptoms – I just took him in as I worried about his temperature. If ever in doubt don't think you are wasting the doctors’ time – it’s better to be safe!”
