Conor’s lucky escape from meningitis

Conor’s lucky escape from meningitis

11 June 2014

A SHRIGLEY family is helping raise awareness of a deadly form of meningitis after their son made a remarkable recovery from the infection.

When he was just three years-old, Conor Young contracted the highly aggressive meningitis B, which, although rare, can cause permanent disability and sometimes death.

Although he had been feeling unwell for a couple of weeks before being hospitalised Conor wasn’t showing some of the traditional signs of meningitis and his parents, Frank and Denise, presumed it was a childhood virus.

After helping raise over £1,000 for the Meningitis Research Foundation, Denise said they wanted to stress to parents that they “know their own child” and if in any doubt to seek medical attention.

“He had not been well for a couple of weeks previously just on and off,” said Denise.

“Then one day he just started to go downhill. When I came in the house he was on the sofa. He looked dead, the look of him.”

“His eyes were all sunken in and black and his lips were white. We could not really see his top lip.”

Taking him to the doctor, it was advised that Conor went straight to hospital. However, it wasn’t clear immediately what was wrong with him.

“There was nothing obvious like him not liking lights,” said Denise. “He had been red and blotchy but that came and went. It was not the purple rash [sometimes associated with Meningitis]. My thoughts were that it was a heat rash.”

Conor had underwent a number of painful tests, including a lumbar puncture.

“They said he was a mystery to them,” Denise said. “They didn’t know what it was but they knew he was fighting something really bad.”

Fortunately Conor was given meningitis medication as a precaution and several days later he started to show an improvement.

“It was awful, a nightmare, something you would not want to go through,” said Denise. “He wasn’t responding for the first couple of days. On Friday he came round and when he did come round he had a squeaky voice.

“He had an English accent for a while, though he didn’t seem to notice. He did not want to be in the hospital he wanted home.

“He went through a traumatic few days. For a while he shouted ‘no more needles’.

Thankfully Conor appears to be experiencing no long term effects but he is due to go for a hearing test as hearing loss is one of the potential after effects.

Denise said she is welcoming government plans to introduce a meningitis B vaccine, but says the important thing for parents is to “know your own child”. She says Conor understands he was very ill but has happily made a full recovery.

“Conor is a bubbly wee child,” she said. “He loves nursery school, loves his friends. He loves going over to the park and loves going to Strangford to see the ferry.”

The Young family have extended thanks to all those who supported the recent Teddy Toddle at Conor’s nursery school, St. Colmcille’s. The amount of money raised as a result for the Meningitis Research Foundation was £1,332.70.

• The Meningitis Research Foundation would like to point out that the first symptoms of the infection can be fever, vomiting, headache and feeling unwell, just like many mild illnesses. Symptoms such as a rash, neck stiffness, dislike of bright lights and confusion can follow. Not everyone gets all of these symptoms and in some cases of meningitis a rash may not appear at all. Symptoms specific to septicaemia, which can occur with or without meningitis, can include limb pain, cold hands and feet, pale or mottled skin and breathing fast.