'I thought my son had a chest infection - one more hour and he would have died'

A mum has shared a warning after her son contracted a rare and life-threatening condition from a chest infection which left him unable to walk or talk for months. Martine Purdy, 51, was left distraught after she discovered her son Franki, then 11, sitting on his bed with his fingers bent backwards making a strange murmuring sound.

The special effects makeup artist, from Nottingham, said there had been no signs of the illness, except a pain in his leg, a slight temperature, and a chest infection he had had for five weeks. Franki, now 13, was rushed to the hospital with doctors revealing he had just one hour to live when the ambulance got to him.

He was placed in an induced coma, before being diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of meningitis with sepsis, with Martine preparing to say goodbye. Thankfully, Franki battled on, but 19 months later he is still unable to recall conversations seconds after they’ve happened and needs help getting washed and dressed.

Doctors said the condition was likely caused by a chest infection which spread to his brain. Martine said: “There were no immediate signs, he had complained of a pain in his leg the day before, and he was really tired.

“The next morning I went up to his room and he was sat on the edge of the bed and his fingers were all bent backwards, his eyes were half closed, and he was making this awful murmuring sound.

“I couldn’t rouse him; it was like he was on a different planet. I didn’t know this at the time, but he had already had two seizures, his right lung had collapsed, and he’d had a stroke.

“When the paramedics arrived, they tried to get him down to the ambulance, but in his confusion, he thought he was being kidnapped. In the hospital, doctors put him in an induced coma and said he had swelling on his brain.

"It was the most horrific sight you could imagine, he was hooked up to all of these wires and there were machines breathing for him. The doctors said it was really lucky that Franki was fighting, as it can be fatal.

“They said he only had an hour to live when the ambulance got to him. Me and his dad Luke stayed every night in hospital with him for a whole month, where he had to learn to walk, talk eat and swallow again. Now, 19 months on, he’s only just transitioning back to school, but it’s so hard for him, as he forgets conversations as soon as they have happened.”

Martine first noticed that something was wrong with her son one day in March 2024 when he began to complain about a pain in his leg. Franki also appeared very tried, and would not eat anything, and by the evening, he had a temperature.

At the time, Franki had had a chest infection for five weeks, so Martine did not think anything too much of the temperature. The next morning, Martine went in to Franki’s room, after feeling a “weird sensation”.

When she found her son, he was sat on the edge of the bed with his fingers “bent backwards”, making a murmuring sound. After unsuccessfully trying to rouse Franki, Martine immediately called the emergency services but when they tried to take him downstairs and put him in the ambulance, in his confusion Franki thought he was being kidnapped.

When they arrived at the hospital, Franki underwent a number of tests, and Martine was told he would have to be placed in an induced coma, to find out exactly what was wrong with him. Franki was then diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening form of bacterial meningococcal meningitis with sepsis called meningoencephalitis.

This happens when you have inflammation and or an infection of your brain and meninges - the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal chord - at the same time. It is usually caused by viral and bacterial infections - such as the chest infection Franki had - which spread to the brain, leading to inflammation, and symptoms include seizures, memory loss and trouble moving parts of the body.

Due to the severity of his condition, Martine revealed that she “prepared to say goodbye”, as she had no idea how long he had left. However, Franki stayed strong and spent a month in hospital during which time he had to learn how to walk, talk and even eat again.

And 19 months on, he still needs to use the wheelchair at times, and Martine has to help him with getting washed and dressed. Franki has no memory of the incident, and during his time in hospital had confabulation nightmares - nightmares he thought were real - where he had staples in his face.

“It was horrible watching him go from a lively boy to a shadow of himself," Martine said. Franki’s illness also caused him to lose patches of his hair and he still suffers from violent headaches.

He is only just transitioning back in to going to school, but struggles with learning, as he is unable to retain information. Martine said: “He has no memory recall, he forgot a lot of his classmate’s names when he went back to school."

While Franki was in hospital, Martine began writing a story, where she imagined that while Franki’s body was in a coma, his mind was in a mythical forest where he met talking animals that told him to be strong.

She decided to turn the story in to a book, to help people to understand brain injuries, and to provide comfort for others who have suffered from similar illnesses. Her book, The Forest of Remembering, is available to buy on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1918011605