Harvey Skutela's story

My grandson Harvey was eight months old when he contracted meningococcal meningitis on 29th January 2011.

After a bad night’s sleep he woke with a temperature, his eyes did not seem to focus and was not with it at all, he didn’t know who anyone was.

We took him straight to the doctors, she saw him right away while she was looking at him he was sick and within seconds the rash appeared. He was rushed by ambulance to hospital and by this time he was unconscious. The medical staff worked for hours to stabilise him. He was then rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital PICU on every type of machine to keep him alive.

I stayed with my daughter there at GOSH, every day just watching him, hoping and praying for him to get better. He needed a blood transfusion, he had fits, one leg had no movement then we almost lost him, but after ten long days Harvey woke up.

He was then transferred back to our nearest hospital where he stayed over another two weeks, until he was well enough to go home.

He is now a well 16 months old, has some brain slight damage and problems with the one leg that had no movement when in hospital, he’s walking, but with a limp, and does everything a 16 month should do, but we are yet to find out how the brain damage will affect him in the future.

But he’s alive and here with us. We were told by the hospital staff that when he was first taken to hospital and very sick, that they lost him and he had to be brought back. He wasn't expected to live but he was a little fighter and made it.

Caroline Skutela
September 2011