BABY Oscar looks like any other little boy running about and causing mayhem, while his mum smiles to herself.

But, the toddler is lucky to be alive after contracting Meningococcal Meningitis when he was just seven months old.

He spent four weeks in hospital and mum, Amy Carson, thought he may not make it.

“I was devastated when the doctors said he had meningitis,” said Amy, a support worker from West End.

“Meningitis is something that you read about. Something that happens to other people, not to us.

"There were times when I thought we would lose him, as he got worse before he got better and it took almost three weeks for us to see any improvement at all.

"During that time, I couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I felt so helpless.”

Amy had taken Oscar to her GP when he started crying one afternoon and wouldn’t stop. He was sent to hospital for observations, where they thought he had a virus and sent the family home.

After a night of no sleep due to Oscar’s distress, Amy took him back to the GP, who sent him straight back to the hospital.

A lumbar puncture confirmed he had Meningococcal Meningitis, despite having no rash.

“It can be very difficult to diagnose if there is no rash,” explained the 27-year-old.

“The team at Southampton General Hospital were fantastic though. He is here today because of them.

"They listened to me when I said there was something wrong with him. As a mum you know when there is something wrong with your child.”

Oscar had to have surgery to insert a line, used to take bloods, into his neck as his veins kept collapsing and when a scan showed he had pericardial effusion – a build up of fluid around his heart – he needed surgery again to drain it.

It was then that he seemed to have turned the corner on the road to recovery.

“Once they removed the fluid, Oscar picked up straight away,” said Amy. “We were over the moon! And when he first laughed again, and smiled at us, we knew then that he would be OK.

“He had made it.”

  • To raise awareness of meningitis, and much needed funds for the Meningitis Research Foundation, Amy organised a Night at the Oscars, pictured below, which took place last weekend and raised more than £1,400.

Daily Echo:

She is also backing the Where’s Our Vaccine campaign, which was started by the Meningitis Research Foundation.

“I want to let people know that meningitis can be present without a rash,” she said.

“I never knew that. To me, it was all about the rash. Mums know when their children are ill, and we were lucky the GP and hospital listened to us, but not everyone is so lucky.

"I’d like to tell people that are worried to make sure you get your child checked out, and keep pushing until you get the answers you need.”

If you would like to make a donation to the Meningitis Research Foundation on behalf of Oscar or find out more about Where’s Our Vaccine, visit: justgiving.com/oscarsevening.

For more details, please go to meningitis.org.