A Cheshire teenager who was found 'black and blue' in bed and bleeding from the mouth had to be rushed onto life support. James Eaton suffered a violent seizure at home before mum Georgia found him 'unresponsive' in bed.
The teenager, now aged 14, had lost consciousness and had medics waiting for him at the Countess of Chester Hospital as he was getting out of the ambulance. Georgia, a 36-year-old retail worker, says her son was left 'fighting for his life'.
He was transferred to intensive care at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, the Liverpool Echo reports. But now, after months in hospital, the youngster has finally been able to go back home to be with his 11-year-old brother Alfie.
Recalling the horrific ordeal, Georgia said: "He was black and blue. His eyes were white, he had blood coming out of his mouth and his lips were blue. I called for an ambulance and when we arrived at the Countess of Chester Hospital a crash team was waiting outside.
"They did some tests and within half an hour, a doctor came to me and asked me to sit down. They said he had a collapsed lung, a major chest infection and sepsis.
"He had to go on life support. Knowing James was fighting for his life was the hardest thing to process." James was transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit where he stayed for the next four weeks.
Georgia said nobody could understand why he was so poorly and it was only due to his strength that he 'pulled through time and time again'. The teenager's heart even stopped at one point after he was moved to the high dependency unit.
But after months in hospital James was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, a rare neurological condition causing inflammation of the brain. James has now returned home for the first time in eight months after he was rushed to hospital and treated for a rare autoimmune disease.
James, from Ellesmere Port, became ill with high temperatures and lethargy in December 2021 but it wasn't until the following month when he was admitted to hospital. He’s since had a myriad of different treatments, including steroids, therapeutic plasma exchange, and he’s been put on a ketogenic (keto) diet to try to control his seizures.
Georgia stayed at Alder Hey's Ronald McDonald House while James remained in the hospital. She said: "When I arrived at the House back in January, I had nothing with me other than the clothes I’d thrown on that morning.
"Feeling anxious and lonely, not only was I given somewhere to rest and sleep, but I was also given food and drink, having eaten and drank nothing all day. I will never forget that first greeting and the way in which the staff wrapped their arms around me."
The mum-of-two added James has 'got better and stronger'. She said: "As I approach the end of my stay at the Ronald McDonald House, it’s mixed emotions.
"I feel like I’m leaving my second family but I’m also excited and can’t wait to spend the rest of the summer with both my boys at home together. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s helped us to get here and can’t thank them enough.”
Lynne Wright, house manager at Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey, said: “It’s been our absolute pleasure to accommodate Georgia since James’s hospital admission in January, but we’re so pleased for her and her boys that they get to go home now. As a charity, we are proud to be able to help ease the financial and emotional burden of having a sick child in hospital.
"We believe that when a child is sick, the entire family needs comfort and support. We work closely with our NHS hospital partners to support family-centred care by giving families a place to stay, moments away from their child’s ward.”
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