In January 2023, my husband, Billy and I took our little boy, Arthur, to hospital as he was unwell and we knew something wasn’t quite right. Although at the time we thought he just had a bad sickness bug and was dehydrated & delusional.
Arthur spent two nights in hospital hooked up to antibiotics & fluids. After numerous tests during this time, we received the devastating news that Arthur had Pneumococcal Meningitis & Sepsis. We were heartbroken and it didn’t feel real. At this point Arthur didn’t even have a rash or any of the other common symptoms associated with meningitis and they didn’t appear for another couple of days!
This had to be one of the scariest times of our lives, seeing our gorgeous and usually very lively little boy, sleeping in a hospital bed for days on end.
We are so so lucky that after a total of 10 days in hospital, Arthur made a recovery from this awful disease! Unfortunately he lost the hearing in his left ear, which will never return, and now he has a hearing aid but we are so grateful as the outcome could have been much worse.
When you hear the word Meningitis, the first thing you think of is a rash and the glass test, however there are many other symptoms and, as in Arthur’s case, a rash doesn’t always appear immediately, or at all. Know the symptoms, trust your instinct, and please don’t wait for a rash!