“Please trust your instincts. If you feel something isn’t right, push for answers. It saved my son’s life.”
Brooke, Wolf’s mum, tells us how she was sent home with baby Wolf three times from the GP, and even once from the hospital, before his symptoms were finally taken seriously. But, by then, he was in a serious condition with pneumococcal meningitis.
“I’m sharing our story to raise awareness of meningitis — an awful, terrifying disease that very nearly took my baby from me. I want to put the symptoms out there, because meningitis doesn’t always look how people expect it to.
“What happened to us was absolutely terrifying, and if sharing Wolf’s story helps even one family trust their instincts and seek help, then it’s worth it.
“Wolf had been unwell for around two weeks before he was diagnosed. He was off his food and milk, which was so unlike him. We had taken him to the doctors three times during those two weeks.
Knew something wasn’t right
“One visit was for a rash, which we were told was “viral.” In the days leading up to everything escalating, he had been crying in his sleep, burning up with a temperature, and he just wasn’t himself. As his mam, I knew something wasn’t right.
“On Wednesday 10th December 2025, everything changed. Wolf had his first bottle of the day and immediately projectile vomited. I rang the doctors straight away and was given an appointment that afternoon. When the GP examined him, his temperature was 40.2°C. He was extremely lethargic and so pale. The doctor was clearly concerned and told us to go straight to A&E, not to stop anywhere else, so we did.
“We spent around four hours in A&E. They managed to bring his temperature down with Calpol and ibuprofen and told us that all of his observations were fine. They took swabs for RSV, Covid, and flu, but told us we didn’t need to wait for the results and that we could go home.
Couldn’t shake the feeling
“But when we got home, I just knew he was seriously unwell. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right, so I kept him in my bed with me that night — and I am so incredibly lucky that I did.
“Wolf slept for a couple of hours, but I couldn’t settle. I kept watching him. Then I noticed his skin looked yellow, his eyes looked dark, and he just didn’t look okay at all. I rang 111.
“During the call, I had to wake him up — and that’s when everything became truly terrifying. He was retching as if he was about to be sick, but at the same time his eyes were rolling back. He was completely unresponsive. I couldn’t wake him.
“An ambulance arrived within 30 minutes. Once again, his observations were “fine.” He didn’t even have a temperature at that point. But the paramedics weren’t happy with how unresponsive he was or how pale he looked.
“They blue-lighted us straight to the hospital. Wolf was put on oxygen, and slowly some colour came back into his lips.
Sensitive to light
“When we arrived, we were taken straight into resus, where around eight medical staff were waiting for him. Wolf was extremely sensitive to light — they tried shining torches in his eyes and he couldn’t bear to open them. He couldn’t move his neck and had no reaction to pain.
“All of his veins had collapsed. They couldn’t get a cannula in to give him fluids. They even had to drill into the bone in his leg, but that failed too. Eventually they managed to get fluids into him and realised he was severely dehydrated. I believe at that point they knew what they were dealing with because of the combination of symptoms.
“They started him on the strongest antibiotics immediately. They retested for RSV, Covid, flu, and pneumonia. They performed a lumbar puncture — and that’s when they knew for sure it was meningitis, because the fluid was not clear. A CT scan of his brain came back fine.
“They then performed an ultrasound on his liver, as they said it felt enlarged. While they were there, they decided to scan his soft spot (fontanelle). One nurse said there was no need because he’d already had a scan — but they did it anyway. Thank God they did. They found abnormal signs of fluid around his brain.
Picking up slightly
“Wolf was moved onto a ward and closely monitored. He seemed to be picking up slightly. He was drinking milk without being sick, having little wake windows, and watching his iPad.
“He was more alert, and we were told they wanted to wait until Monday for an MRI, as they didn’t want to sedate him and risk setting him back while he appeared to be improving.
He was officially diagnosed on the Thursday.
“Then, on Sunday morning, everything changed again. We woke up to Wolf having a seizure. It lasted around 20 minutes. He was rushed straight to PICU, sedated, and taken for an MRI. He was gone for around four hours — the longest four hours of my life.
“The MRI showed fluid around his brain and infection within his brain itself. Surgeons had to be called in urgently, because it was a Sunday. They operated straight away and fitted an EVD to drain the fluid. During surgery, they also drained the infection.
“While in high dependency, Wolf also tested positive for RSV. He was monitored closely for seizures and was having absence seizures — sometimes just an arm or leg twitching, sometimes his eyes rolling.
First Christmas
“Once he was able to breathe on his own without oxygen, we were transferred to the neurology ward for the remainder of his stay. We decorated his room ready for his first Christmas.
“After eight days, his EVD was removed, which meant another sedation. His infection levels were monitored closely through regular blood tests. After completing two weeks of antibiotics, they still weren’t happy with his infection markers, so he was put on another two-week course. His antibiotics were increased to a higher dose and given every eight hours.
“On Boxing Day, he had to be sedated again to have a PICC line fitted because he had no veins left for cannulas, and they weren’t lasting long enough. His infection levels spiked again — but thankfully dropped two days later.
Smiled his way through
“Recovery wasn’t smooth. We had a few bumps along the way. But Wolf smiled his way through every single day.
“He was switched to oral antibiotics the day before discharge, which he continued for another two weeks. We are hoping this will be the final stretch.
“He has a hearing appointment coming up to check whether meningitis has affected his hearing, and we still don’t know if there will be any long-term effects. What we do know is that he will be back and forth for check-ups for the foreseeable future.
Trust your instincts
“Meningitis doesn’t always present how you expect it to. Please trust your instincts. If you feel something isn’t right, push for answers. It saved my son’s life.
“We will never have the words to thank the NHS and the medical staff who saved our baby’s life.
“Please learn the signs of meningitis and trust your instincts — they matter. I will forever raise awareness of this cruel, terrifying disease.
“As a mam — and especially as a first-time mam — this experience has traumatised me. I constantly worry about Wolf becoming unwell again. I’m scared of taking him into public places, scared of germs, scared of anything that could make him poorly.
Scared of doing normal things
“He’s just had his first birthday, and even that was hard. We limited it to immediate family only because I was so frightened of him picking something up. I find myself scared to put him in public trolleys or high-chairs, scared to take him to soft play, scared of doing the normal things you do with your baby.
“I don’t want to keep us locked away from the world, but what we’ve been through has really shaken me. After nearly losing my child, it’s impossible not to be afraid. I’m learning that healing doesn’t just happen physically — it takes time emotionally too.
