Brave tot makes it home from hospital in time for Christmas

Elijah Bell, from East Kilbride, first became unwell on September 23 when he had a spike in temperature. 

At first, it was suspected the two-year-old had a viral infection followed by tonsillitis due to his symptoms. 

However he quickly began to deteriorate and could barely stand when his GP referred him to Wishaw General Hospital. 

At hospital, things progressively got worse and after tests it was confirmed Elijah had Pneumococcal Bacterial Meningitis. 

He was put on antibiotics and after five days started to show a little bit of progress before his health deteriorated again.

His mum Natalie explained: "He was getting on top of his infection, but then on day six, he completely deteriorated, and he started having seizures.

"It was at this point we were transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

"When we arrived, the team placed him in an induced coma for two days to try and get control of the seizures and prevent any further brain damage.

"We thought we were going to lose him. We had no idea what was going to happen, and we have never been so scared in our entire lives.

"After a few days, the doctors removed his tubes and he was able to breathe on his own, but he was still very much asleep and unconscious, to the point where he was unable to open his eyes for days in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit."

The neurologist advised that Elijah had suspected areas of stroke due to vasculitis as a complication of meningitis. 

After five days in PICU, he was moved to the neurology ward where he was sleeping about 90% of the day. 

Another scan showed that he had Hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain that increases the pressure and he had to have an external drain fitted to his head. 

Prior to having the surgery, Elijah couldn't move his right leg or arm because of the areas of stroke but he was able to move his right leg again after the fluid was drained. 

The drain was in for around two weeks before he had further surgery on October 31 and had a shunt fitted for life. 

Natalie said: "It was at this point that we saw a big improvement in him.

"After his post-surgery recovery, he had intense neuro rehabilitation which included daily physio, speech and language, occupational therapy and daily visits from different doctors as well.

"He made amazing progress.

"At this point we were allowed home for visits and Elijah took a couple of steps unaided in the house which was amazing.

"We couldn’t believe he was able to walk. The doctor was lost for words."

On December 7, Elijah was officially discharged and walked out of the hospital holding his parents' hands. 

He is now having plenty of festive fun at home with his mum, dad Jamie and one-year-old brother Isaac. 

Natalie has praised the medical team for saving Elijah's life. 

She continued:  "We are so grateful Elijah is here. We owe the medical team at the Royal Hospital for Children. They saved our son.

"Ronald McDonald as well, the amazing facility helped us so much. Being able to stay on the grounds, was amazing.

"They made us feel so welcome from the moment we arrived.

"We may not stay miles and miles away, but we had no idea how Elijah was going to be health wise and being able to be only a few minutes from the hospital was truly amazing.

“We also want to say that that we are beyond proud of our brave boy.

"He has shown the true meaning of strength and courage, and we love him so much.

"Thank you to everyone who was involved in saving Elijah’s life, we will be eternally grateful to you all."

Shuko Joseph, consultant in Paediatric Neurology at the Royal Hospital for Children, said: "It was our great privilege to be part of Elijah’s recovery journey as part of the neurology- neurorehabilitation team.

"The family endured such challenging time with incredible resilience, strength, and hope. It is so wonderful to hear the family is getting on well at home especially at such a special time of year.

"Such recovery has been a credit to Elijah and family’s wonderful efforts and excellent engagement with therapy sessions and would not have been possible without the expertise of the PICU staff, ID team, neurosurgical staff, neurology ward staff, nurse specialists and neurorehabilitation therapists.

"We are so grateful for everyone involved in Elijiah’s recovery."