A 23-year-old mother struggled to decide whether to get her son vaccinated or not after reading stories from other mothers online.
“I would see other mums on Facebook share posts saying it causes autism. I was scared and wasn’t sure what to do,” Sophie Dale expressed.
But her son Levi contracted measles two weeks before he celebrated his first birthday. The infection started as a rash but it had shut down his immune system within days.
Levi had to spend his first birthday in hospital, fighting for his life.
“He woke up with a temperature and a rash and we took him to the GP, who suspected measles. We were sent to A&E and Levi was formally diagnosed and I was told to keep him away from everyone,” said Miss Dale.
“I began to realise how serious it was when Public Health England rang me and asked a million questions. They even sent someone round to my house for swabs.”
Levi spent two weeks recovering at home but his condition deteriorated. “He began to have seizures, his face was swollen and his temperature was up to 40.6C (105F). It was terrifying,” Miss Dale shared.
“We called an ambulance and he was blue lighted to hospital where he was treated for secondary infections including sepsis, encephalitis and pneumonia.”
The 1-year-old boy spent six days at Stoke Mandeville hospital where he was sedated and pumped with antibiotics.
Fortunately, he has made a full recovery. Miss Dale wants to encourage other parents to act quickly before it’s too late.
“I was naive and hadn’t realised how dangerous measles can be. It’s not just a rash – one in 15 children develop complications including encephalitis, convulsions, meningitis or deafness,” she said.
“Vaccinating is not just about protecting your children, it’s other people’s children too. Levi got measles because of someone else’s choice not to vaccinate.”
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