Early diagnosis
On the 23 December 2023 my eight-year-old son, Jacobe, started to get poorly. He was throwing up a lot, had a high temperature and was very lethargic. Because Jacobe had suffered from pneumonia in the past, most recently in the summer, I took him to the urgent care centre.
He was seen by a nurse who thought he should be checked at North Tees Hospital.
We made our way over to the paediatric department and after being seen by the doctor they thought it was a sickness bug. We returned home with instructions to keep an eye on him. Jacobe was up throughout the night being ill, maintaining his high temperature as well as developing aches across his shoulders and back.
The next morning, on Christmas Eve, he then began struggling to breathe. We rushed him back to urgent care and, while waiting to be seen, he took a real turn for the worse. He was working hard to breathe; his lips went blue with his arms and hands turning purple. He was rushed in to see a doctor who gave him oxygen and thought he might be septic. An ambulance blue lighted us back to North Tees Hospital with Jacobe undergoing a series of assessments while they tried to rule out meningitis or an infection. He was taken for an x-ray and straight away they could see from his left lung that it was severe pneumonia. He was kept on oxygen and started on antibiotics.
“It was an absolute lifesaver. At Scott House we had everything we needed to look after ourselves while also being just minutes from Jacobe’s side.”
Jacobe’s dad, Gary, returned home to get some things while I stayed with Jacobe on the ward. He was really poorly at this stage, being given lots of medication and fluids. The doctor came round on Christmas Day and told us it was looking quite bad. “Jacobe is seriously ill and we suspect that he has fluid on his lungs,” he said. That was extremely worrying and scary for us to hear. He needed a scan to confirm whether there was fluid or not, but he would not be able to have it until Boxing Day because of the reduced number of staff working. The following day the scan did confirm fluid on his lungs, but they could not confirm if it was clear fluid or pus. Jacobe needed to undergo specialist treatment and potentially surgery, so plans were made for him to be transferred to The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Support from The Sick Children’s Trust
We made our way over on the 28 December and on arrival it dawned on us that we were now an hour away from home, with our son seriously ill in hospital and we had nowhere to stay. That first night we both stayed at the hospital as it was late by the time Jacobe got admitted. As we tried to work out what to do the nurses mentioned about Scott House, a ‘Home from Home’ which supports families with a place to stay while their children are in hospital. We’d never heard of Scott House or The Sick Children’s Trust, the charity that runs it. But by the next day, we had our own set of keys and made the short trip over to this ‘Home from Home’.
It was an absolute lifesaver. At Scott House we had everything we needed to look after ourselves while also being just minutes from Jacobe’s side. I was going to stay at the hospital regardless as I couldn’t be away from Jacobe, but with there being limited space on the wards it meant that Gary could be with us as well before returning to Scott House to get some rest. Without it our only other option would have been to sleep in the waiting rooms. We couldn’t afford a hotel, especially when we had no idea how long Jacobe would be in hospital.
With this all happening over Christmas it made everything a lot more difficult. It’s usually such a lovely time of year for everyone, but for us it just felt like everything stopped. The hospitals had Christmas decorations, and the staff gave Jacobe presents, which was lovely. However, because he was so ill we didn’t want to celebrate. Everything was just on hold. The presents under the tree at home were left wrapped up, and we didn’t see any family. With Jacobe being seriously ill, the reality is that Christmas didn’t come to the front of our minds. We were just focused on trying to get him better.
Jacobe had a chest drain inserted to help remove excess fluid and was closely monitored. However, a CT scan eventually showed that the fluid wasn’t clearing. A few days later, on 4 January 2024, he underwent major surgery to allow surgeons access to the back of his lung, where they removed an empyema – a sac of pus pressing on his lung and causing it to collapse, which explained his breathing difficulties.
Jacobe spent the next eight days recovering before being discharged on 12 January.
Since leaving hospital
Since then, Jacobe has had a few bouts of pneumonia, but each was successfully treated with antibiotics. He’s now doing much better, full of energy, and back to his usual self. He’s excited for Christmas, and we can’t wait to enjoy a big roast dinner and quality family time, relaxing and playing together. We’ll always be grateful to The Sick Children’s Trust for their incredible support at Scott House. If you’re able to donate to their Christmas appeal, please consider it—your gift will mean the world to families who need to be close to their seriously ill children, just like we did.
Sarah Roberts, Jacobe’s mum
