Moniqe Fiddes, 26, from Devon, finally discovered the strange reason behind her little boy’s runny nose…
Fact file
Wiping my little boy’s nose, I scooped him up. ‘Shall we go out and do a bit of shopping?’ I smiled.
It was October 2016, and Hero, then a year old, had the sniffles.
It seemed that ever since he was born, he’d had a runny nose, but doctors were never that concerned.
Keen to get him out the house for a while, I strapped him into his car seat next to his brother Zack, then two.
My husband Matt, 40, decided to stay at home with our other kids, Madison, then 12, Lola, 10, and Savannah, nine.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, I checked my rear-view mirror.
Just then, I noticed that Zack was staring at Hero, looking shocked.
Turning around, I was in for a shock myself.
Hero’s head was tilted back, his mouth was wide open, and his eyes had rolled back.
‘Hero!’ I cried, jumping out of the car and running to him.
Thinking he was choking, I grabbed him out of his car seat, ran back into the house, screaming for Matt. ‘He’s choking!’ I cried.
Luckily, Matt knew first aid, so I lay Hero on the kitchen table as he started CPR on our little boy.
I rang 999, and by now, Hero had turned blue.
But when we checked in his mouth, there was nothing there.
Why had he suddenly stopped breathing?
By the time paramedics arrived, he was awake, and the colour was coming back to his face.
We were rushed to Great Western Hospital in Swindon, and by the time we got there, Hero was absolutely exhausted.
Doctors did tests, and finally, we had an answer as to why he’d suddenly stopped breathing.
‘Hero’s had a febrile convulsion,’ the doctor said. It was something that happened to children when they had a high temperature – it was the body’s way of cooling itself down.
‘I didn’t even think he had a temperature,’
I said, bursting into tears.
But doctors warned me that it could happen again, and urged me to bring him to the hospital right away if he developed even the slightest temperature.
After some paracetamol, Hero livened up, but back home, I was a nervous wreck.
I was constantly checking
his forehead, but over the next few weeks, apart from his usual runny nose, Hero
My baby boy had turned blue
then, my phone rang again.
‘You need to come now,’ the babysitter cried, hysterical.
‘I think Hero is having some kind of seizure.’
Full of adrenaline, I raced to the kids’ club, arriving out of breath to find my little boy convulsing just as he had before.
‘Mummy’s here,’ I soothed, pressing my finger down on his tongue to help him breathe.
The babysitter had called an ambulance, and we were soon rushed to a local hospital.
And after tests, my worst fears confirmed – Hero had suffered another febrile convulsion.
‘It doesn’t make sense,’ I cried. ‘He’s not sick, so why does he have a temperature?’
Hero was given paracetamol again, and like before, he was soon back to his normal self.
‘I just want to go home,’ I cried to Matt. ‘We need to keep him safe.’
We agreed to cut our holiday short, and returned home the next day.
I needed to know why this was happening, so a few days later, I took Hero to the hospital, where he had an MRI scan.
I wasn’t expecting them to find anything, but what they did find was the last thing I’d imagined.
‘Hero has tonsillitis,’ the doctor said. ‘It’s what’s been causing him to have a fever, bringing on these convulsions.’
‘His tonsils?!’ I cried in shock.
I couldn’t believe that such a simple thing had caused so much damage.
And the worst part was, the doctor reasoned that Hero had probably had tonsillitis all his life.
It explained the constant runny nose…
My poor baby had been suffering with a sore throat all his life, and we didn’t even know it.
‘He probably thought it was normal,’ I said to Matt, feeling so guilty.
‘He will need to have his tonsils removed,’ the doctor said.
‘Yes, absolutely,’ I agreed.
But there was a long wait to be seen…
In the meantime, I kept a very close eye on my boy, looking out for any signs of a fever.
Finally, on 29 October last year, at three years old, Hero had his tonsils removed.
After waking up in the ward, he was happily chomping away on a chocolate biscuit.
‘It must be such a relief not to
Fhave a sore throat anymore,’ I smiled, kissing his cheek.
Since then, Hero’s been a completely different boy.
He’s happy all the time, has an enormous appetite, and doesn’t have a runny nose anymore.
He also has a younger sister now – Mayella, one – who he adores.
Matt, who bravely saved our son’s life with CPR all those years ago, is now offering basic first aid classes to other parents.
It’s such an important skill to have, and without it, Hero would not be here today.
I’d never heard of febrile convulsions before, and was astounded to learn that Hero’s tonsils were the cause of his fits.
I’d never made the connection. Now I want to warn other mums. If your child has a sore throat, get it checked out.
And more importantly, if your child shows any signs of a fever, get it seen to right away.
It was the last thing I’d imagined
ebrile convulsions are fits that can happen when a child has a fever. They most often happen between the ages of six months and three years. In most cases, the high temperature is caused by an infection such as chickenpox, flu, a middle ear infection, or tonsillitis. The fits usually last about five minutes, during which the child becomes stiff and their arms and legs twitch. They may also lose consciousness. If your child is having a febrile convulsion, call 999, then place them in the recovery position while you wait.
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