Lennon had already had various medical problems from the age of six months. Then, in July 2012 when he was three years old, he was diagnosed with viral meningitis. Here his mum Charlotte, from Radcliffe, talks about their experience and how he triumphed in the face of adversity
Triumph in the face of adversity
Lennon had stayed with his Dad for the weekend, and on the Sunday when he came home his Dad told me that Lennon had been ill since the Saturday night, so I kept an eye on him. The next day, he started being sick and I took him the GP. When he became floppy and limp, the GP told me to take him to hospital.
The medical staff at Bolton Hospital were waiting for us when we arrived, and Lennon had some blood tests done. When the results came back, the nurse told me that my son had meningitis and he needed a lumbar puncture which confirmed the diagnosis of viral meningitis.
Kept falling over
Lennon was very weak for weeks after being sent home from hospital. It was nine weeks before he was able to return to his nursery. His balance was off and he kept falling over, and he still falls a lot now.
At the hospital, I happened to find a leaflet about meningitis but I wasn't given any specific information to go home with. We had one follow up appointment after he was discharged, but I took it upon myself to arrange to have his hearing and eyesight tested; both of which came back clear. I used Meningitis Now’s website to find out more about the disease as well as their helpline.
Lennongitis!
Lennon thinks the disease is named after the person who has it – so "lennongitis" is what he calls it.
Meningitis Now has given us lots of information and has been an enormous support, and to say thank you Lennon is running the Bupa Junior, and the Mini Great North Run in Manchester on 27 May to raise money for them. He is so proud of his Meningitis Now t-shirt, and shows it off to everyone he sees. I'm incredibly proud of him.
Lennon met his hero Daniel Sturridge at the Bolton Wanderers end of season party in 2011. Daniel contracted viral meningitis during the same week as Lennon, in July 2012.
