A man who complained of a migraine was rushed to hospital with "one foot in heaven and one foot on earth".
James Wilde, from St Helens, went to bed feeling unwell on March 15 after suffering with a migraine and vomiting. But after he became "unresponsive", he was rushed to Whiston hospital where a CT scan showed he had meningitis of the brain.
Partner Kiera Harrison said this came "as a shock" as she was told the dad-of-two may not survive before he was transferred to the Walton Centre in Liverpool. Kiera told the ECHO it was uncertain whether they would be able to operate due to the infection having spread "inside his brain".
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She added: "Normally surgery like that is because the infection is in one place and antibiotics wouldn't work but we didn't know if he'd make it. The surgeons were at the door waiting for him and they sat us down in a room and told us James had one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. They had never seen an infection that bad so quickly.
"They said if he'd been 40 they wouldn't do the surgery but because he was only 25 they wanted to give him a chance. He was in a coma for five days but during that time we didn't know what damage had been done. Every day they were preparing us for something else, not knowing if he would wake up or how brain damaged he would be."
Kiera said James woke up five days later, on March 20, and remained in hospital for four weeks before he was allowed a visit home this weekend to see his family. He has since been transferred to St Helens Hospital.
Kiera said: "It was awful. It was just a massive shock. They didn't give us much so it was hard to hold on to hope. The surgeons were amazing. We have seen them since and got to say thank you and give them cards and presents which was really nice."
The mum-of-two told the ECHO the infection started as sinusitis but they were unaware of that at the time. However, after reporting a lump on his head, Kiera said they visited the GP several times but were told it was "fatty tissue".
She said: "He could feel a hole in his skull but they disregarded it and said it was fatty tissue but now we know it was the infection that had eroded his skull." Thanks to the "miracle" surgery, James is expected to make a full recovery.
In a bid to give something back to those that "gave him the chance he needed" the family will be walking from their home in St Helens to the Walton Centre on April 24, expecting to take around four hours. After reaching their £500 target in just two days, Kiera said the donations have come rolling in.
She said: "We just want to raise awareness and say thank you and hope that our funds will make a difference. Before this, I didn't even know about the Walton Centre or where it was.
"From start to finish, the support from staff was unbelievable. They were a massive help. We've raised over £1,000 so far and have local charity boxes in shops. He's just so grateful for everything and feels so lucky to be able to see the children grow up."
Anyone wishing to donate can do so by clicking here.
