The parents of a baby who was taken ill with meningitis at 10 weeks old have described how they "broke down" when he was taken into hospital. Ellie Brice, 32, and Ryan Davies, 27, welcomed their fourth son, Joseph, into the world in March.
He was immediately put on antibiotics to help with a suspected infection but was sent home happy and healthy soon after. But when he was 10 weeks old his mum noticed he wasn't drinking from his bottles and booked a doctor's appointment.
By the afternoon he was feeling fine again so she took her sons to Barry Island. By the evening Joseph was struggling to breathe and feeling groggy so Ellie and Ryan phoned 111 and an ambulance arrived to take Joseph to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
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He passed out on the way to the hospital. Ellie said: "We didn't realise how serious it was really. They were brilliant though. They took us straight into the emergency room and there were doctors everywhere.
"They got a canula and food straight in him. They took him up to intensive care because he was struggling too much to breathe and they intubated him, did a lumbar puncture, all sorts of tests, and started him on all sorts of antibiotics."
Ryan added: "He ended up having two blood transfusions and he had to have breathing tubes, feeding tubes, and in all fairness they were brilliant. There was no messing about – they got straight to it."
By the next evening the doctors had diagnosed baby Joseph with pneumococcal meningitis – a relatively rare form of meningitis that doesn't always show the same symptoms as other types, can cause inflammation and damage to the brain, and can sometimes be fatal. As it had reached his brain Joseph developed sepsis and had also contracted rhinovirus.
Ellie said: "At the time it just kind of felt like a slow car crash. Things were just happening around us. There was so much going on at first. I remember one of the doctors saying it was okay to cry. I remember thinking: ‘I don’t know if I can. I don’t know what’s going on.’"
Ryan said: "It was almost as if adrenaline kicked in – you just dealt with what was coming, trying to do what you could. It wasn’t until the next day when he was sedated and all tubed up. You’re sitting there and you’ve got that breather to really think about everything. I’m not one for it but I broke. As a grown man I absolutely broke down. I was like a sobbing child. It was honestly the worst thing I’ve ever had to go through in my entire life."
The two were initially sleeping on a pull-out bed in a counselling room – but in their time of need they were offered accommodation by Cardiff's Ronald McDonald House, which provides temporary accommodation to families of hospitalised children for as long as they need.
The Cardiff site, which has just marked its fifth anniversary, has space for 30 families and includes a full kitchen, storage space, a laundry room, and social areas where families can gather and share their experiences. Ellie and Ryan were full of praise for the support they received from the charity. "They sorted all the forms and everything – sorted everything out for us," said Ellie. "They just asked for our names, showed us all round, asked if we needed anything like deodorant and stuff you wouldn’t think of – we didn’t think to grab anything for ourselves."
The family live in Caerphilly meaning their other three sons – Charlie, 11, Harrison, nine, and five-year-old Rupert – could stay with their grandparents. But the fact that they could visit their parents in Cardiff was a huge relief.
Ryan said: "One night I got forced into watching SpongeBob. I hate SpongeBob! But we all had our own individual bed in the room, the kids were in pyjamas, we all had a lie-down and watched SpongeBob until I convinced them it was time for the telly to go off.
"It was just the normality of it. You’ve got the independence of making them a bit of food. I could just go and sit in the kitchen and have a microwave burger. It was something normal when you’re not surrounded by doctors and nurses. Don’t get me wrong – they were brilliant. But you don’t want to be around them all day. If it weren’t for the Ronald McDonald I think life would’ve been so much harder." Ellie added: "When it was Charlie's birthday they gave him presents and made a big fuss of it."
Emily Roux, the house manager of the Cardiff site, said: "When parents are at their most stressful moments having a child in hospital we are the closest place that they can take refuge. We can be a safe space and a sanctuary. Families come in from across Wales and beyond and we can give them a place to stay and take a breath."
But the parents said it all became too much for Charlie on his birthday when the family were hoping to go on a day out but had to get Charlie's grandmother to pick him up after Joseph was taken in for surgery. At this point Charlie broke down in tears.
Ryan said: "It was heartbreaking, it really was. The boys were so brave through it. They’ve been phenomenal. To be honest I couldn’t believe it took that long for one of them to have a day like that.
"The next day he was all right. I think the same as everyone – you need to let it out every now and then. He did feel better for doing it."
The couple explained that the kids "didn't quite understand" Joseph's illness to begin with. Ellie said: "Rupert asked if Joseph had died because he wasn’t allowed to see him." Ryan explained: "The way it was said was like he didn’t understand the question he’d asked."
Gradually things started to look up for baby Joseph and in early July, he was discharged from hospital. Now happily back at home he's four months old.
Ellie said: "He’s still on his anti-seizure medication and will be for a while. His brain was really swollen so I’m hoping that will go away when it settles a bit but they’ve said they don’t know yet.
"His eyesight and hearing seems okay. We’re hoping he won’t have any lasting damage. It was really overwhelming bringing him home. We were terrified to be away from the doctors and everything.
"We’ve got medicine and stuff to give him if he has a seizure at home but that really knocks him out. He has to have help breathing so we’ve been given training on how to resuscitate. We were terrified to be honest."
Ryan added: "“I’ve had basic first aid training but I’ve never been taught how to do it on a child. It’s a horrific thing to think about.
“Both of our mums were there, the kids were home. Everything got to us – we just had a breakdown. We finally had that moment to have a breather and then all the worry came back in an instant."
But despite the intensity and the stress of bringing Joseph home Ellie said: "It's been so good to be home. Having the boys back together arguing and nagging us for a cwtch."
According to the Meningitis Research Foundation symptoms of pneumococcal meningitis in babies can include irritability, high-pitched or moaning cries, being stiff or floppy, and developing a bulging soft spot on their heads. If left untreated it can lead to drowsiness and confusion and eventually seizures and loss of consciousness.
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