“He was our miracle baby and our last chance of having kids – now he’s gone.”
These are the heart-wrenching words of a grief-stricken mother from Yorkshire, recounting the harrowing final hours of her son’s life. Sheffield mum Sammy Knowles described how medical teams battled to save her four year old son Jaxon, who was ‘crying blood’, after a rash led to a deadly diagnosis of meningitis.
Sammy, 40, and her husband John, 38, had taken their son on holiday, unaware of the horrifying ordeal that awaited them upon their return. The family had enjoyed a weekend in Blackpool with Jaxon’s uncle and a family friend.
Sammy remembers Jaxon’s joy as he playfully dived into the pool and ‘acted like a lunatic’ during their short break, which ended on Sunday, February 16. However, tragedy struck when they returned home, as Jaxon suddenly fell ill and tragically passed away in hospital the following day (Monday, February 17).
Mrs Knowles recalled: “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,” reports Yorkshire Live.
Sammy shared the distressing ordeal of her son’s abrupt illness, detailing: “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.”
Initially, she suspected something much less severe, disclosing: “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 recounted the distressing wait for help: “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.”
Flabbergasted by what doctors later revealed, she said: “I was in shock as I had not heard anything about meningitis for years.”
In an unbearable loss, Sammy and John were by their son Jaxon’s side in the hospital as he deteriorated. Mrs Knowles recounted the sorrowful moments: “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 decided that Jaxon needed to be induced into a coma, intending to transfer him to a specialist children’s hospital.
Despite their efforts, which included successfully reviving his heart after it stopped, the devastating news came that he had died. The bereaved parents are now in a state of shock as they organise his funeral for March 10.
Mrs Knowles shared her anguish: “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.”
Recounting their struggle to have a child, Mrs Knowles 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.”
She reminisced about the happiness Jaxon brought them, highlighting, “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.”
In a statement tinged with sorrow, Mrs Knowles reflected: “He was such as good boy, no trouble at all. Now we have nothing.”
To commemorate their cherished son, the family has established a charity page to raise funds for Meningitis Now in Jaxon’s memory. Furthermore, Sheffield Wednesday fans will pay homage to Jaxon, a dedicated fan of the club, in tonight’s match against Sunderland with a moving four-minute applause at 8pm.