I'd make a brew.......

Spiked jet black hair & a chubby little face, perfect! Jack-e-boy, 9lb 5oz, big, chunky, solid!

As a new parent for the second time my list of worries included;

• Getting out of hospital & home to my eldest and the needy dogs asap
• Food..... get me some food!
• I really need one of those Ink sets to get his footprint done (you can't do one without the other)

Not on the list;

• MENINGITIS

Clichéd? Yes. But, you never imagine hearing that word. It's a horrible word, and surely you would know immediately if your child has meningitis? It's obvious isn't it? They go downhill fast and are all floppy and develop a rash? Not in our case.

Jack was 'off' on a Thursday afternoon. Friday morning he had a temperature and was feeding a lot (breast), as he fed his temperature kept coming back down. He was alert, he was feeding and he was sleeping peacefully.

Friday night we were due to go out for some food for our wedding anniversary. My gut told me to ring 111 'just to be sure'. I remember my husband was shocked but supportive.

111 weren't alarmed until I mentioned his skin had suddenly gone quite mottled. They called us an ambulance. We arrived in A&E and were seen promptly but with no urgency. The doctor told us that Jack had oral thrush and to keep him in his nappy to help bring his temperature down. It didn't sit quite right, but he was still feeding, he was still alert & he didn't look really ill, just 'off'.

Saturday night was a blur of screaming & feeding, but the doctor had said that he was fine, and that I was being overly cautious!

Sunday morning we went back to A&E as his face looked like he was in pain and the temperature still persisted, it was now more on than off.

A different doctor told me that 'because I was a second time Mum, and this was the second time I had bought him in' that he would send us up to Paediatrics.

At no point did I think 'my baby could have meningitis'. No one around us seemed overly concerned. We waited hours up on paediatrics just to see a consultant. The consultant came in and listened to me intently and immediately sent him for a Lumbar puncture. At this point I still believed that they were just ruling out meningitis, just to be on the safe side.

Within the hour the consultant came back in and said to us; 'I'm really sorry but your baby has meningitis'

The next 24 hours were a pure blur. Needles, wires, antibiotics, phone calls, talks of whether it was viral or bacterial meningitis. The only thing that really, profoundly stood out was the consultant saying to us 'I can't give you any assurances for the first 48 hours, we have to see how he responds'.

Jack spent 2 weeks in hospital being treated for bacterial meningitis (the more severe of the 2 strains) - yet still he fed, he was alert, he didn't seem that ill! Talk turned to the possible long term effects; deafness, brain damage, learning difficulties, mobility difficulties....

Miraculously, Jack is one of the lucky one's. He's just turned 1 today. He hasn't been officially discharged just yet, but he shows no signs of any long term 'damage'. His appetite for life is larger than his appetite for food (and that's mammoth).

We simply can't imagine life with Jack not in it, but we were told that was a real possibility! I want every parent to always trust their instincts and also know the signs of meningitis, a rash can be the very last indicator.

Bacterial meningitis kills more children under 5 than any other infectious disease in the UK.

Please help Meningitis Now to continue to raise awareness of meningitis and to support impacted individuals & their families by donating to our Toddle Waddle.

Ok, so maybe you need a whole pot of tea! Thanks for reading!

Please visit www.Meningitisnow.org and familiarise yourself with the signs

Jen & Jack xx