A toddler had part of his lung removed after he contracted invasive Strep A.
Reuben Damant, three, needed a litre of fluid removed from his right lung as part of it was taken out during a five-hour-long surgery
He first fell ill in November last year with a high temperature and severe stomach ache, prompting his parents, Charlton Damant, 33, and Sam Damant, 34, to call 111.
While on the phone to the operator, Reuben began screaming in pain, so they rushed him to Ipswich Hospital’s A&E.
In the waiting room he began to hallucinate, speaking to his older sister Isla, seven, who wasn’t with the family at the time.
Charlton, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, said: “There’s no dressing it up, it was awful seeing Reuben that poorly.
“The more the doctors explained his symptoms, the more we realised it was Strep-A, especially with all the news stories about it.”
After being admitted to the ward, an X-ray of his lungs revealed fluid as well as necrotising pneumonia, which was killing his right lung tissue.
With suspicions that he had invasive Strep-A, Reuben was transferred to the intensive care unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
During five hours of surgery, a litre of fluid and the top lobe of his right lung were removed.
Charlton will be taking to the skies this weekend in a 15,000ft skydive to fundraise for The Sick Children’s Trust, which supported him during Reuben’s recovery.
He said: “I don’t know what we would have done without The Sick Children’s Trust.
“We always planned to raise money and give back to this amazing charity to thank them for supporting us through this difficult time.”
With another 800ml of fluid removed from Reuben’s chest after the surgery, he is now recovering well at home with his family.
Strep A is most common among over 45-year-olds, particularly in those aged over 75, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
However, cases of the infection among children “remain relatively high,” the UKHSA said in its latest update.
Between September 2022 and May 2023, there were 3,287 Strep A cases across all age groups, up from 2,965 cases reported up to April.
There were 761 cases in children under 18, with 60 of the cases occurring between April and May.
Meanwhile, 426 deaths within seven days of contracting the virus were reported in England across all age groups, including 48 children, with one of those death’s occurring between April and May.
