Many of you already know Jamie's story, but for those of you who don't..

On January 6th, 2023, we took Jamie to the Vic for a viral wheeze, something he has been treated for in hospital every winter of his life so far, after being thoroughly examined, we were sent home with a 'wheeze management plan', he had RSV again, we were told to come back straight away if anything changed. The following day he actually seemed a little better, he was cheery and started to get a little appetite back, things looked good, like they were improving. However, Sunday 8th Jan, he woke at around 5am, gasping for breath, sweating with a fever of almost 40, working extremely hard to breathe and becoming drowsy. We didn't waste a minute, straight in the car and drove to Kirkcaldy as quickly as possible, the girls at the children's ward were amazing, took us straight in, got his observations done and the doctor admitted us there and then. At this point, we felt safe enough, he was now on oxygen and it's something we have been through before and knew that he would be okay now he was in hospital being closely monitored, expected to get home within a day or two. The next morning, when the doctors came to do their rounds, there was silence as they listened to his chest, we started getting a bit concerned because we were aware it was taking a lot longer than normal and the doctor kept going left to right, left to right, they told us not to worry or panic, but it sounded like he may have pneumonia, base of his left lung, he went straight away to x-ray and it was confirmed. They informed us that a specialist would be over on Wednesday to the Vic, who does all the ultrasound scanning on children, this would decide whether he needed a chest drain fitted to clear the fluid on his lung or if it could be left for the antibiotics to treat it. However, his consultant, who is one of the most amazing humans on this earth by the way.. had a feeling it could potentially be Invasive Group A Strep and did not waste a second on starting him on intravenous antibiotics to treat it, as the tests take 48 hours to provide results. Had she not made this call and started the medication that she did, when she did, I'm certain he wouldn't be here today. We owe her everything. By the time Wednesday came, it was confirmed, Jamie had Invasive Group A Strep, at the time it was sadly all over the news because there were a lot of children who sadly lost their lives to this infection, so when we heard those words, we literally felt sick and fell apart, I've never felt fear like it, and we were absolutely helpless, Jamie by this point wasn't talking, eating, barely even moving. We couldn't hold or hug him because his whole body was in pain, it was like a living nightmare. The ultrasound didn't look to bad at this point and it was decided to remain at the Vic and continue his current treatment. however, when Saturday morning arrived, 14th Jan, Jamie's 3rd birthday.. I knew immediately something wasn't right, maternal instinct? It's real. He had a look about him and I just knew, fevers were getting worse, he was needing the oxygen pretty much all the time now, they sent him straight for an x-ray, and confirmed his lung had now went on to fully collapse from the fluid. We were sent straight away in an ambulance to Edinburgh sick kids. I was once again, sick with fear and worry, going to a strange place without Graeme, just me and Jamie and I genuinely didn't know what the outcome would be at that moment in time. A lovely nurse from the Vic, Niamh, came with me on the journey over, she was amazing, she kept me calm, reassured, kept a close eye on Jamie and stayed with us for a bit once we got to Edinburgh to make sure everything was all good. At around 1am, we finally got settled in our room in Edinburgh, he was in critical care, but he was stable and going into surgery first thing the next morning to have his chest drain fitted. The procedure went well, they did tell us that the type of pneumonia he had, had caused necrosis on his lung, they were hopeful it would grow out as he grew, one upside to this happening at such a young age, hopefully he could avoid lasting lung damage.. he then had to go back into surgery again a couple days later because his veins kept collapsing and they needed a more long lasting method of delivering his medication, so he was fitted with a Hickman line into his chest. After 1 week in Edinburgh, we were finally getting to go back to the Vic which felt like home after being so far away! The nurses at the Vic were so happy to see him back and on the mend, he was still going to have 4 weeks of antibiotics left, but he would hopefully do one more week at the Vic and then we would go home and finish the course there. Things continued to improve day by day, his fevers had now stopped, his heart rate was better, he was getting more energy and starting to walk again after being in a bed for 3 weeks. Then the day before we were due to go home arrived, 3 weeks after being first admitted, a tiny little rash appeared on his cheek, straight away we called for someone to come and look at it, it didn't seem to be anything serious to start with but as the night went on it got worse, and spread more and more - we weren't going anywhere. The doctors said it was a severe drug reaction to the antibiotics and he would have to stop them immediately. We were terrified all over again, he had a raging fiery red rash covering his entire body, the fevers returned, he was miserable and now had to stop his medication when he was only half way through the course. The nurses once again, amazing, they constantly checked on us, the play team at the Vic would bring him toys as rewards to encourage him to take his medicine and done everything in their power to minimise the trauma for him. So, unsurprisingly, due to stopping the antibiotics his symptoms started to worsen again, and there was no other option but to send us back to sick kids where a specialist in antibiotics and infectious disease would take over his treatment to work out what would be safe for him to take to treat the strep infection but not worsen the allergic reaction. Thankfully, they got a plan in place and he finally started to get better. We went home on Feb 21st 2023, 44 days in the hospital with Graeme and Jack travelling almost every day to be with us, finally we were home.

Once we got home, his journey was far from over and he still regularly sees his consultant and continues to take medication to ensure he stays healthy, but the fact we are here now is a miracle. Without the support of the nurses and play staff in the Vic, and the support and reassurance and care from his consultant, I don't know how we would have gotten through it. They are all superstars, they went out their way countless times to make Jamie smile, to sit and just talk with me for ten minutes for some company and reassurance, even a hug, a hospital is a scary place for a parent when your child is seriously ill, especially the countless times I had to pin him down for them to change dressings, administer medication, take bloods, while it broke my heart and made me just sob, they were the ones who would give me a hug and remind me it was all for the greater good, they would always pop their head in our room just to say hi even if they weren't on his care that day, I can't possibly ever thank them enough they truly are incredible people, so supportive, caring and genuine. Graeme and I don't ever feel we will be able to thank them enough, or let them know just how much they meant to us during our time there, but we thought the LEAST we could do, is try to raise some funds to give something back to them. Whether they use the money for equipment, toys for the children or facilities for the parents, anything will be incredible, just to give something back as thanks.

Thank you for reading Jamie's story - I literally received the call today from his consultant to say his chest x-ray from this week is totally clear, she called it the best news, and I'd have to agree!