Our Story

On the Tuesday 22nd May 2007 our little boy Oliver (20 months) was rushed to hospital with all the symptoms of Meningococcal Septicaemia.  Our local hospital (Daisy Hill Hospital Newry) did an outstanding job assessing Oliver's condition, stabilising him and preparing him for transfer to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.  Oliver was admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where we were told that his next 72 hours were critical.

Oliver is a very tough little boy and he managed to pull through with his life intact - that's all we really wanted when we realised just how sick he was.  However, it was painfully obvious no matter how much we tried to be optimistic, that the Septicaemia had caused irreparable damage to some of Oliver's limbs.  From the knee down his legs were completely black and within a week of coming out of Intensive Care we were told that both his legs would have to be amputated below the knee along with the finger tips on three of his fingers on his left hand.

Oliver remained in hospital for a further five weeks and improved every day with the amazing care of all the staff especially those on Knox Ward - the Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit.  Since coming home from hospital Oliver has got his first set of prosthetic limbs and is learning to walk again and do all the things that 2 year olds should (and shouldn't) be doing!

As you read this you may think what a horrendous thing to have happened, and believe us it is completely devastating for entire family and friends, but we are the lucky ones - Oliver is alive and his personality is just as it was, lively and adventurous!  He is our inspiration!  Oliver has a lot of people who love him but the one who probably helps him the most is his big sister Niamh who was nearly 4 when Oliver got meningitis.  She has handled the entire thing amazingly and helps every day to remind him that apart from legs that come off, he's just the same as everyone else!!

What shocked us, and everyone we know, was the speed at which this disease takes over.  We were travelling home from holiday when Oliver seemed to be 'out-of-sorts' - sleepy, a bit shivery and just not himself.  We put him to bed and although he had a temperature, it came down when we gave him paracetemol.  We checked him at 11:30pm and 12:30am when we went to bed.  At 5:10am when we checked him he was completely covered in the pin-prick rash.  Within two hours of that Oliver was in hospital, intubated and being taken by ambulance with police escort to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.

Meningitis is a horrific disease and so we decided to try and do something to raise the profile and awareness of it as well as trying to raise money for some very worthwhile causes.  We are raising money for the Meningitis Trust who have supported us since Oliver was diagnosed, and who undoubtedly will have to support other unfortunate families in the future.  As a family, we are very determined that Oliver will be able to live his life to the full and do as much as he possibly can with prosthetic limbs - this is likely to mean purchasing specialised prosthetic limbs which are not available on the NHS. All donations we receive via this site will be split equally between the Meningitis Trust and a fund for Oliver.

Thank you for visiting our website.  Obviously we would love you to donate but we understand that everyone has their own causes to support, but even by just visiting our website and making yourself more familiar with the symptoms of Meningitis perhaps one life could be saved from this cruel disease and that would be worth more than any amount of money we could raise.