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Finn R's story

16th March 2016

Finn was two-and-a-half years old when he contracted meningococcal septicaemia in June 2011

Finn R's story

Before developing a rash, he suffered with a high fever with cold hands and feet, was grey in appearance, floppy, unresponsive, vomiting and making strange noises.

After visiting a walk in centre and calling 111, Finn was rushed to A & E. His mum, Lena Radford, of Bedworth, tells their story.

“I woke up as normal on that Tuesday morning, Finn was and unusually lethargic and teary, with a very high fever. I gave him some Calpol and decided to leave him with my mum rather than send him to nursery.

“My mum rang me at lunchtime to let me know that his fever was not coming down - it was 39.5 degrees, and he was acting strange. She said she was really worried.

“I mentioned it to my manager, but unfortunately at that time I worked for a very inflexible organisation and she wouldn't let me go home.

“I spoke to my sister who left work and took Finn to the walk in centre at about two o'clock in the afternoon. Finn was seen by a doctor, who advised that he had a viral infection. She was told to take him home and continue with his Calpol and ibuprofen at regular intervals and to see the GP the following day should he not get any better.”

Finn R meningococcal bacterial meningitis case study

He was extremely poorly

“My sister took Finn home however she wasn't happy with his response so she rang 111. They advised the same course of action, so my sister rang me again at four o'clock informing me that Finn was extremely poorly and that I needed to come home.

“I asked my manager if I could leave her to it and she said do what you want to do. So I left. By the time I got back to Finn it was about five o'clock. I took one look at him and realised that he was extremely poorly and my gut reaction was I needed to take into A&E.

“At A&E it took two and a half hours for Finn to be seen, despite me giving details of his symptoms to triage and at the front desk.

Within minutes he was covered in a rash

“When Finn was finally was seen by a doctor his rash had started appearing, spreading within seconds. Within a minute or two his entire chest was covered. Finn's hands and feet had started to turn dark purple and his entire body was grey. His face was colourless and his lips had a blue tinge around them. After this it was all a bit of a blur. Within just a few minutes they had cannulated him and started to administer the vital antibiotics that he needed. Finn escaped without losing any digits or limbs, however he has suffered after-effects later in life as he now suffers from epilepsy.”

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