Don’t let your children suffer like my son did, says mother
A MOTHER has issued a warning with her son in hospital after he swam in a river near Bristol.
rio Smith went for a dip in the river Avon at Saltford on Saturday, with his older brother Keegan and some friends.
Two days later, he collapsed at school.
The 12-year-old has spent the last few days in isolation at Bristol Children’s Hospital suffering from a contagious gastroenteritis bug.
The ordeal started when rio vomited and passed out at St Bernards Lovell Academy in Oldland Common last Monday – two days after swimming in the river.
His mother Shelley rushed to collect him and took him straight to Southmead Hospital. He was then taken to Bristol Children’s Hospital in the city centre.
His symptoms included diarrhoea, vomiting, and severe dehydration that had caused his heart rate to double before he collapsed. The youngster has received two rounds of antibiotics through a drip and his heart rate has lowered. Shelley said nurses told her this was the second case they have had this week after a child had swum in the river at Saltford.
She said: “There’s a six-week holiday the week after next. If the weather’s going to be like this then all the kids will be down there.
“Just don’t let them in the river. It’s terrifying.”