A MOTHER has praised the work of staff at Nevill Hall after her baby was saved from a terrifying life threatening illness.

Bridie Edwards' son Ethan was only four months old when he contracted Septicaemia.

She said, "He was really grisly so I took him down the doctors. It was really out of character for him because he had never been ill and is always happy. "He was screaming for about 20 minutes in the GP surgery and the doctor said there was nothing wrong."

Back at home Ethan was still inconsolable, "He wouldn't even have his bottle, he is a 17lbs baby and has never turned his bottle down so I knew something was wrong.

"It was awful and terrifying because I didn't know what to do and he is my first baby. I called my health visitor Carolyn Mapp and she came to the house and saw blood spots on his feet and said I should take him straight to accident and emergency in Nevill Hall Hospital," she said.

Mrs Edwards, 24, and her husband Glenn, 27, rushed to the hospital.

"He kept crying, at first they didn't know what was wrong, it was terrible. The doctors and nurses were brilliant, they did everything possible, they took a blood test which didn't show anything and they examined him over and over.

"When they said they thought it was septicaemia we nearly dropped dead, we never heard of children surviving it and they were not sure of what type it was so they gave him antibiotics. It was awful, he had to have a sedative and a lumber puncture in his back and a brain scan. We both stayed at the hospital and the nurses were excellent and always made sure were were ok and gave us tea and coffee."

Ethan had to undergo chest x-rays to make sure there was no further damage. The couple also had to face the fact that their son could have contracted meningitis.

"I stayed with him for seven days then he was allowed home and we went back down for another five days. It took two weeks for him to recover," she said.

Mrs Edwards, who works for the Alzheimer's Society, said it was the quick-thinking staff at Nevill Hall who saved her son.

"We just want to thank everyone who helped including Dr Tom Williams and my health visitor Carolyn. I would like to thank Glenn's employers Randall Howell in Union Road Abergavenny for being so good.

"If parents go to their GP and still don't feel happy they should trust their instincts, thankfully I did and took the advice of the health visitor."

Ethan is now 21 months old and is happy and healthy at home in Aberbeeg.

Mrs Edwards added, "I am so grateful because if something like this was left untreated he could have been left without limbs, or worse." • SEPTICAEMIA is the presence of bacteria in the blood and is often associated with severe disease. It is a serious, life-threatening infection that gets worse very quickly. It can arise from infections throughout the body, including infections in the lungs, abdomen, and urinary tract. It may come before or at the same time as infections of the bone or other tissues. Septicaemia can rapidly lead to septic shock and death. It can begin with spiking fevers and chills, rapid breathing and heart rate, the outward appearance of being seriously ill.