“I had taken my 21-month-old son Jay out to the Railway Museum in York.
We arrived home at lunchtime and he developed a high temperature, I gave him some Calpol and he seemed to perk up a bit. By 7pm he had started to be sick.
“I kept my eye on him all night; at this point he was very sleepy. I changed his nappy at about 10pm and noticed two bruise like marks on his torso. I performed the glass test and the bruises did not fade. We took him straight to A&E in York where he was rushed into resus.
“He was intubated and put on a ventilator. They administered IV antibiotics and contacted Sheffield Children's Hospital, who sent a retrieval team to pick him up to take him to intensive care.
“At this point he had IV lines in both his hands, both his feet and a central line put in by the consultant from Sheffield. We followed the ambulance down the M1, which was by far the worst thing I have ever been through. We did not know what was happening in the ambulance or how he was doing.
Critically ill
“We arrived at Sheffield about 5.30am and were told Jay was critically ill and the next 24 hours were crucial as to whether he responded to treatment or not.
“Luckily after four days they decided to try and take him off sedation. The first time they tried he didn't wake up on his own as he was too sedated, so they tried again the next day and this time he came around. He was transferred back to York exactly a week after arriving at Sheffield but when back in York his temperature was spiking quite high again.
“He had a brain scan, chest x-ray and echocardiogram, to see if there was any more infection. but nothing was found. Again, exactly a week after being in York Hospital he came out in some spots, which the doctors diagnosed as chicken pox! He was then allowed home. It was the happiest day of my life.
“He was very weak, but was back to himself in a couple of weeks and after multiple check ups was given the all clear and had no after-effects at all. He is now 11-years-old and starts secondary school soon. He is a happy and healthy boy and I am grateful for this every day.”
