Cameron's Story, Nowra, New South Wales
It was July 2004 when Cameron aged 17 came home from work, he went for a swim and then for a run. After dinner he said he was not feeling well and thought he might have the next day off work. As parents trying to teach our son honourable work ethics we said this was not the right thing to do and off he went to work on Thursday morning.
He came home at 8.30am and said he had been sick and vomiting but as other work mates had been unwell we just assumed he had picked up a bug. Cameron said he was just feeling off. So Cameron had a bath and went to bed with a headache I asked if he needed a Panadol and at that stage he said no.
I had an appointment in Nowra so I said to Cameron I would be home about lunch time. When I was in Nowra I picked up some shopping and thought of Cameron at home and had tears in my eyes not knowing why I was feeling this way. I arrived home at 1.00pm and Cameron was sitting in the lounge chair looking unwell and he said he had vomited again. He now has a sore head so I gave him 2 Panadol and he went back to bed. I closed the curtains to keep him warm.
He slept for a few more hours and as most mums think if a child is not well sleep will help the recovery, so by now Im thinking that he has picked up the vomiting and diarrhoea bug like the other guys at his work.
4 hours later he woke saying his neck was sore and my reply was could I get you a different pillow? Plus he received 2 more Panadol, it is now 4.00pm. At 6.30pm Cameron was yelling that his head is sore and the pain is terrible.
I am starting to get really worried, I ring a girlfriend for reassurance, and she is not home. His noise of pain is getting worse and I now know that Panadol is not going to help. I then rang the doctors surgery to receive the message of which doctor was on duty and when I rung this number was told this number could not be connected. Camerons noises are getting worse and I dial 000 and ask for an ambulance to come and help.
The ambulance arrived in 15 minutes and they walked into Camerons room and checked his blood pressure and asked questions about drugs and alcohol and his blood pressure was 60 over no bottom reading and they asked him was his neck sore. Camerons body was already in shock. I followed in the car so I would have time to explain what was happening to his brother and father. I was not overly worried as the ambulance said it may be a migraine which he had suffered from before.
My husband was already at the hospital when I arrived and they directed my straight into emergency which surprised me a little. The doctor proceeded to tell us Cameron was seriously ill and they were treating him for Meningitis and Meningococcal because he was deteriorating in such a short time. They x-rayed his heart and lungs and also a cat scan of his brain and the results were not good. They said his heart and lungs were apparently hanging like a sack.
The doctor said Cameron only had a small chance of survival and they were doing everything possible to give him a chance, they were in contact with a specialist in Sydney throughout the process from the ambulance to the hospital and they were ready to treat him as soon as he arrived.
When the doctor left to go to Cameron we were stunned with disbelief and did not want to believe what we had been told. Max, my husband went back to work to look up more information on Meningococcal disease on his computer. Cameron was now attached to a lot of machines and being administered 4 times the normal dose of drugs to try and pull him through this critical period. They re x-rayed and the results were not encouraging. The doctor said Cameron was not moving in a positive direction and that it is a high possibility that he will die.
I was stunned and now my inner self was falling to pieces. The doctor said to call in his brothers and sister, Max came back with further information and he was looking as shattered as me. My mum arrived and I asked could I please just be with Cameron and not sitting in a room away from him. The advice from Sydney was to hit him with the lot as there was only going to be one chance he was hooked up to all these lines.
They were talking of airlifting him to Sydney but did not think he would make it. They took him up to ICU and we were asked to wait while they proceeded to do a lumber puncture and connect more lines. The ventilator was all ready in case his lungs collapsed. He was only allowed 2 family members with him at a time and we were gowned up with a mask and gloves.
During the night his hands were changing colour and were a dark reddish colour, that was not a good sign and we knew he could lose limbs, have brain damage and severe scarring. He was very agitated and it was explained that is what the disease does to the brain.
As quick as Cameron went down his recovery was nearly as quick and by Saturday morning he was sitting up for short periods but he tired quickly and slept most of the time. Some of the doctors and nurses came up to visit they had worked so hard to save him and we know he was truly one of the very lucky ones. The doctors had a big smile as did Camerons family. This was all very daunting for Cameron because at this time he had no idea of what had happened. We had a quiet talk to him and explained all that had gone on in the last 24 hours.
Cameron was in ICU for a week with some of the drugs being deleted but the high dose of antibiotics continuing until the day he left. Blood tests were done every four hours. Through this process we were asking a lot of questions and learning. Everyone was so helpful and kind and professional. We thanked them over and over again as well as the ambulance officers who had acted so quickly. We found out a great friend had also set up a prayer chain for us and we are all blessed by God and give thanks.
He was off work for 3 weeks and as a mum I found the time afterwards challenging. I knew when he came home he was no longer in danger and it was wonderful to tuck him into bed when we told he may never come home.
In March 2008 Cameron has no obvious ill effects, he is well and happy, has full time employment, and become engaged and life is good.
