The mum of a young lad who had a headache has issued a warning to all parents after she insisted on getting a scan - and was told that if he hadn’t had it he would have died. Young Henri Brammer was taken to his local hospital’s A&E suffering from eye pain feeling lethargic.
Doctors said they thought the nine-year-old was suffering from a viral infection and he was about to be sent home. But mum Carly was worried and said she had insisted on him having a scan - and he underwent brain surgery for five hours that same day when it showed a potentially lethal infection in his brain.
The scan had showed a 10cm ball of pus on his brain and he was taken to nearby Alder Hay hospital for neurosurgery. Mum Carly told the Liverpool Echo: “He was perfectly healthy, he wasn’t ill except for the headache.
“They told us he’d had a sinus infection which had caused Strep A and then spread and caused empyema of the brain. The pus was dangerous where it was.
“He was in Alder Hey for a month until January 17 so he missed Christmas at home with his siblings. We’ve been back to Alder Hey a few times and it’s like he never had anything wrong. He’s now back in school full time and is back to football, back on full form.
“We were told if we hadn’t taken him to A&E on the 19th, he wouldn’t be here. His brain would’ve shut down and he’d have gone to bed and just not woken up.”
Henri had three surgical procedures in just three weeks.
Most strep A infections are mild and easily treated, but some are more serious. The NHS advises parents to trust their instincts. On the NHS website it says: “It can be difficult to tell when a child is seriously ill, but the main thing is to trust your instincts. You know better than anyone else what your child is usually like, so you’ll know when something is seriously wrong.”
Carly is urging other parents to be aware of Strep A as she said: “Parents know when something is wrong so trust your gut, even if you are wrong just push for answers. We didn’t know how serious Strep A can be, he’s a very lucky boy.
“Trust your gut and don’t take no for an answer. Alder Hey have been incredible, if you need something done, it’s done there and then.”
After spending time in ICU and the high dependency unit, Henri was discharged from Alder Hey on January 17 this year and has been fundraising for the hospital ever since. He wanted to raise £10,000 by November on his 10th birthday to say thank you to the staff who saved his life. A number of fundraisers have already been held and the page has raised over £9,000 as donations keep pouring in. The fundraising page can be found here.
Strep A symptoms:
- flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, swollen glands or an aching body
- sore throat (strep throat or tonsillitis)
- a rash that feels rough, like sandpaper (scarlet fever)
- scabs and sores (impetigo)
- pain and swelling (cellulitis)
- severe muscle aches
- nausea and vomiting
