Chester’s mum Sally’s writes,
“Our little boy Chester was born on the 19th of December 2021, he needed assistance when he was born but we were told the symptoms he was showing were just down to the stress of birth and given all clear to go home.
My mummy Instinct however told me differently, as we waited to be discharged, I just knew something wasn’t right. Chester was grunting and his nostrils were flaring.
I called a midwife and asked for him to be checked again, once he was seen the doctors agreed and had him on antibiotics within an hour or so as a precaution whilst blood cultures were taken and we awaited the results.
After a couple of days, it came back that Chester had sepsis due to group B Strep infection however by this point he was doing well thanks to the early start on his antibiotics. After 3 failed lumbar puncture attempts and after a week in hospital, we were allowed home on Boxing Day with the advice to keep an eye out for symptoms of meningitis. This again was an incredibly scary time being at home panicking over every little noise or movement but luckily Chester continued to thrive.
I thank God every day that I followed my instincts and still to this day I’m haunted by what could have happened, because I had never heard of group B Strep before – even after having 2 previous children. I dare to even say that I still didn’t fully understand what had happened until I contacted GBSS.
I ran the Great North Run on the 11th of September 2022 to help raise funds and most importantly awareness. I could barely run a minute a few months ago but with the reason behind why I was doing it was in mind and my beautiful boy was waiting at the finish line. I pushed through and did It for this amazing charity. If sharing my story helps other people, then I will continue on my journey to keep raising awareness and the vital funds needed.”
