A whole year on...

This time a year ago I was trying to get my sick little boy to sleep. Little did we know that the next day we would be airlifted to John Hunter & whisked into the ICU, crying at Lucas' beside hoping & praying he would survive...we were told he was being treated for meningococcal disease & only had a 50% chance of survival. I remember everything as if it were yesterday. The pain in his eyes and his painful cries for help...he was unable to move on his own or bear any weight on his little legs. I remember the helplessness I felt, the pain in my heart although so strong paled in comparison next to what he was going through. I would never wish it upon anyone! As you know Lucas was so very lucky to get treatment so early that he survived with only 2 small scars to show for his whole ordeal.

Lucas is the sunshine that brightens my day when things seem so dreary, he is my strength that holds me together when all I do is worry that it all might fall apart. I love him so much and I thank my lucky stars that he is still here with us today, I couldn't imagine our life without him & I hope I never have to know what that would be like..

Meningococcal is a very fast & deadly disease that takes a strong hold, fast. Awareness & early treatment is the key to survival - PLEASE read the signs & symptoms, be aware & share them with your loved ones. Being aware might just save someone's life...hopefully they can be as lucky as our little family xxx

Feature Article...

So a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be contacted by a lovely lady who works for Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service at Broadmeadow NSW, who wanted to know if we would be ok with Lucas' story being featured in their quarterly magazine, RESCUE. Of course we said yes! The more awareness the better & Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service was absolutely fantastic when Lucas was airlifted from Wyong Hospital to John Hunter Hospital, with the trip only taking around 12 minutes in the air as opposed to 45-ish minutes by car. Thank you, Russell & I appreciate everything you did more than you will ever know!

Follow the link to read the full article:
http://rescuehne.realviewdigital.com/?iid=88735#folio=2

A very exciting week!

Today a very exciting announcement was made in Australia - a new vaccine was announced for the very deadly Meningococcal B! So very exciting for everyone! It was the only major strain in Australia that wasn't covered by a vaccine, the vaccine is now available by talking to your local GP and getting a prescription. As you all know my gorgeous son contracted meningococcal in April last year - he was very lucky to have come through it as well as he did! Immunisations play a very important part in protecting you and your family.

Lucas & I were lucky enough to be asked to be involved in the media coverage for the announcement! We had a few interviews and pre-recordings in the days prior as well as on the day of the announcement FOUR tv interviews along with a radio interview!

Lucas was just great! He was a little shy at first, but once he warmed up he loved seeing himself on the camera's playback. Such a great day & it was wonderful to be a part of this huge step forward for this countrys health!

Below I have sourced the links, so you can all have a look at my beautiful little boy! Feel free to share them with your friends & help raise awareness of the disease.

Ten Eyewitness News:
http://tenplay.com.au/news/national/2014/3/5/new-vaccine

9NEWS:
http://video.news.ninemsn.com.au/?uuid=3294897828001

NBN:
http://www.nbnnews.com.au/index.php/2014/03/05/meningococcal-b-now-has-a-vaccine/?fb_action_ids=10203050169072268&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Prime7:
http://au.prime7.yahoo.com/n7/news/a/-/national/21835907/new-meningococcal-vaccine-video/

Central Coast Express Advocate:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/meningococcal-vaccination-saves-watanobbi-toddler-from-certain-death/story-fngr8h0p-1226844493024

 

5 months on...

Its only now 5 months on that I am able to share this story with everyone. Up until now when people have asked me about what happened, as much as I am happy to tell them - & raise awareness - I have not been able to hold back the tears. I know what I went through & how I felt about the whole thing but it kills me inside to think about what Lucas went through & how he felt. So young and so helpless.

I look back now & as soon as I saw the dots on Lucas' neck I thought that it was meningococcal, but in that same second I thought "it wont be, that won't happen to us". We've all done it - that wont happen to us - you see that on TV & think "oh, that poor family" - never actually thinking that could be your family.

Questions ran through my head the whole time  - could I have done something more, could I have been a better mother & protected him from this, why him? And they still do today, even though Lucas has made a full recovery - to look at him you would never know anything ever happened - still in the back of my mind those questions will always be there, even though the doctors said I had done the best thing for him & got him there early enough so he survived. He was just unlucky enough to catch it but so lucky at the same time to survive.

I think about what Lucas went through every day & there isn't a second that goes by that we are not grateful to still have him here with us. We definitely have a guardian angel watching over us. Unfortunately others are not so lucky, early treatment is the key. I cannot stress how much every minute counts with meningococcal disease, it spreads so fast - someone could be fine one minute & dead a few hours later. Blunt, but true. I will say it now & many times throughout this story, always trust your instincts & consult a doctor or your local hospital if you have any concerns.

Please read Lucas' Journey & be aware of the signs & symptoms - I hope that no one you know will ever catch meningococcal disease - & heaven forbid if they do, that they are as lucky as Lucas.

http://ourmeningococcalsurvivor.blogspot.com.au/p/lucas-journey-through-meningococcal.html


We would like to thank all of our family & friends for their ongoing support throughout, we appreciate it more than you know xxx





*Please note, I AM NOT a doctor or health professional. The information on this site has been sourced from other websites. This site is about our son's journey through meningococcal - not anyone else's, if you require any information or medical help please contact your local health professional or hospital. We take no responsibility for advice taken from this story, as I said this is OUR story.
We are not affiliated with any websites, charities or hospitals mentioned on here - we just appreciate the work that they do, more than they will ever know.