Sammy Knowles said her four-year-old son Jaxon began feeling unwell suddenly while returning home from a short holiday and tragically passed away the following day
A heartbroken mum has said her four-year-old son suddenly became unwell after returning from a family holiday and he tragically died a day later.
Little Jaxon enjoyed a short trip to Blackpool with his mum Sammy Knowles, 40, dad John, 38, his uncle and a family friend, with the family returning home on February 16. But on the way home, the little boy began complaining about his armpit hurting, his mum said, and he then went to sleep for a while before waking up to say that he had a tummy ache.
Sammy said she gave her son some Calpol and stayed up with him until 2am before getting some sleep. However, three hours later, she woke up and noticed a rash on Jaxon. Initially, she thought her son had chickenpox, but his condition soon worsened, as he threw up and then his mouth and tongue began swelling.
At that point, she and her husband called 999. Sammy told Yorkshire Live: “He was complaining about under his arm [armpit] hurting. 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 usual 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. 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.”
She added: “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.”
Sammy said doctors and nurses worked hard on Jaxon as his rash continued to get worse and turn purple, while his worried parents tried to 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.
“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.”
Two weeks since their son’s passing, Sammy and John are still in shock as they prepare for a funeral on March 10. The mum said: It still doesn’t feel real. He was fine all weekend and in a matter of hours he is gone. There were no symptoms of meningitis.”
She also said Jaxon was their “miracle baby” and was born after the parents tried for seven years, including undergoing five rounds of IVF and other fertility treatment. The mum said her little son loved travelling and his last holiday abroad was over Christmas, when they visited Lapland.
Sammy said: “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.” A charity foundation page has been made in which all donations goes to Meningitis Now in Jaxon’s name.
