My boy, 4, said his arm hurt after our family holiday… just a day later he died while crying BLOOD
A DEVASTATED mother has recalled the traumatic last hours of her four-year-old son's life.
Sammy Knowles, 40, described how little Jaxon was "crying blood" after she spotted a rash which led to a fatal diagnosis of meningitis.
Mum Sammy and her husband John, 38, had taken Jaxon on holiday to Blackpool for the weekend.
She described how Jaxon loved to dive bomb in the pool and "acted like a lunatic" on the short break before returning home on February 16.
But when it was time to go home Jaxon, from Sheffield, suddenly became unwell and died a day later in hospital.
Sammy explained: "He was complaining about under his arm [armpit] hurting.
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"He then went to sleep for a while before waking up to say that he had a tummy ache.
"When we got home around 6pm on Sunday, as I lifted him out of the car he kept asking to sleep in 'mummy's bed' - which he always did when he was ill.
"He often got chest infections, so it was nothing new. I gave him some Calpol, which usually sorts out illnesses and did keep his temperature down.
"I stayed up with him till 2am and then woke up at 5am where I used my torch on my phone so I was able to see his temperature reading - but that was when I saw a rash.
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"My first thought was that it was chicken pox and I was devastated for him but when I turned on the lamp next to me, I immediately saw how bad it was.
"I told my husband that I wanted to go to A&E straightaway and as we were getting dressed his condition got worse.
"He threw up, then his mouth and tongue began swelling. We immediately called 999 who told us to lay him down but he couldn't breathe so we had to turn him to his side.
'Felt like an eternity'
"It felt like an eternity had passed until emergency responders arrived then the ambulance crews.
"We were not told anything about it being meningitis until we were in the ambulance where we were told 15 nurses and doctors were waiting in the ICU of Rotherham Hospital.
"I was in shock as I had not heard anything about meningitis for years."
In the hospital, doctors and nurses worked hard on Jaxon as his rash continued to get worse and turn purple.
Sammy and John did all they could to try and comfort him.
She said: "He just kept asking to sleep in mummy's room. I tried to distract him by singing his favourite lullabies.
"He was crying blood and it was awful.
What is meningitis?
It is the inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord and can be caused by meningococcal bacteria and viral meningitis.
If it is not treated quickly, meningitis can cause life-threatening septicaemia (blood poisoning) and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.
The two forms of the disease have different symptoms.
Around 3,200 people a year get bacterial meningitis. One in 10 die and many more are left with life-changing disabilities.
Viral forms of meningitis are less common and rarely life-threatening, but can have lifelong effects.
Infections peak during winter when bugs spread more easily in confined spaces.
What are the symptoms of meningitis?
The symptoms of meningitis develop suddenly and include:
- A high fever over 37.5 degrees - the average human temperature
- being sick
- a headache
- a blotchy rash that doesn't fade when a glass is rolled over it
- stiffness, especially in the neck
- sensitivity to bright lights
- drowsiness, irritability or lack of energy
- cold hands and feet
- seizures
"The doctors eventually told us that he needed to be put into a coma and the plan was to send him to a children's hospital.
"They continued to work on him and told us that they managed to restart his heart when it stopped but then we were urgently called back into the room as he had then died."
Now, a few days since his passing, Jaxon's mum and dad are still in shock about what has happened as they prepare for a funeral on March 10.
Sammy continued: "It still doesn't feel real. He was fine all weekend and in a matter of hours he is gone.
'Our last chance of having kids'
"There were no symptoms of meningitis. He was our miracle baby and our last chance of having kids as I am 40 years old.
"We tried for seven years and went through five rounds of IVF as well as other fertility treatments.
"He changed our world and finally made us parents after we suffered three miscarriages. He took our sadness away.
"He loved going on holiday and travelled the world with us. We took him to Lapland last Christmas."
She added: "He was such as good boy, no trouble at all. Now we have nothing."
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A charity foundation has been made in which all donations goes to Meningitis Now in Jaxon's name.
Tonight at the Sheffield Wednesday game against Sunderland, which kicks off at 8pm, there will be a four-minute clap to remember Jaxon who was a big fan of the club.
