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MENINGITIS STRIKES WITH LIGHTNING SPEED AND THREATENS
TO TEAR A LOVING FAMILY APART
We are so lucky he’s here but when you see your boy with no legs
it’s very hard! BOTH his legs have been amputated and his
fingertips have fallen off. But little fighter Robbie Jones has battled
back from the brink of death after suffering from meningitis.
The 23-month-old's parents Jill Graham and Wayne Jones woke to find him
covered in black and blue bruise-like marks, which they thought was an
allergy, however doctors at the University Hospital of North Durham
confirmed he had group B meningococcal septicaemia, for which there is
no vaccination.
The youngster was transferred to Newcastle General Hospital's
paediatric intensive care unit where he was prescribed powerful
medication and pain killers, and Jill and Wayne were told Robbie's
chances of survival were slim.
Wayne, 35, said: "The doctor said it was one of the worst cases he had
ever seen." "It looked like he had been beaten up, he was bruised all
over. It was actually his blood clotting. He was swollen all over, you
couldn’t even see his eyes. It was so frightening as it
didn’t actually look like him."
The couple moved into a hostel attached to the hospital so they could
continue their vigil, and after five days Robbie came off the
ventilator but his condition took a turn for the worse as his
fingertips turned black and his feet were freezing.
He was moved to the city’s RVI, where surgeons amputated both
legs and fingertips on his left hand as septicaemia had spread.
Jill said: "The doctors have been amazing, they have been honest with
us throughout. It took three days for me to understand what was going
on. We can't believe this has happened."
"As parents you try and do your best for your children from the time
you are pregnant by not drinking and eating well, so they can get the
best in life and all of a sudden not even two years later you get a
kick in the teeth. I keep thinking what did we do wrong?"
The 28-year-old added: "It didn't hit home until we were told the
doctors would have to amputate, otherwise Robbie would die. We were
both hysterical."
Wayne, who works for Thompson’s building merchant, said: "When we
were told we were allowed to see him, Jill walked into the room and I
just put my head in the door, I couldn't go in. We are so lucky he's
still here but when you see your little boy with no legs it's very
hard."
"When you are a dad and you want a little boy, you want him to do
everything you did. I played football for 15 years and it tears at my
heart to even think about it." "We will get on with it for the
bairn's sake but I will never get over this. He has had so much taken
away from him and every step is going to be a hurdle."
"It has only been a couple of months that he has been running around
and now that has been taken away from us. He is going to have to learn
all over again." "Even when I walk down the corridor and I see a little
boy walking along it makes me cry. We had heard about meningitis but
had never seen the affects it can have. It has been our worst
nightmare."
The couple, who also have four-year-old Abbie, are now looking forward
to taking Robbie back home to Bowburn, County Durham, and hope it will
be possible at the end of the week, but Robbie will have to keep
returning to hospital for skin grafts and in four months he will be
measured for prosthetic limbs at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital.
Wayne said: "Robbie loved shoes and if there were any by the door at
home he would put them on. Now he won't be able to do that until he has
prosthetic limbs."
"He knows there is something different as he keeps looking at his
hands. He has also started pointing at the floor as he wants to go
down. He also rubs and strokes his right leg but I don't think he has
properly realised yet."
"It breaks our hearts to look at pictures from before. It's like we
have lost something, we are grieving. In the morning I wake up and
wonder whether it's a bad dream."
Jill said the support from hospital staff, family and friends has been
overwhelming. She said: "We can't thank everyone enough for all their
support, the doctors, families, friends. We couldn't have done it
without them." "So many people have come forward saying they
would like to do an event to raise money." "It has made our
family so much stronger and we have met a lot of people. We have also
realised there are a lot of people in worse situations."
Friends and family have organised charity events to raise money for
Robbie and the Meningitis Trust.
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