Support for Jamie

On the 27 December 2023, my little brother was taken to hospital after he suddenly became unwell with what he thought was gout. He also had pain around his collarbone, where the doctors later found an abscess.

Following a routine operation to drain the abscess found on his neck, Jamie became severely unwell with an extremely high fever, and he was placed in an induced coma. They told us that he would be in a coma for just 24 hours.

Upon trying to wake Jamie up the following day, it quickly became apparent that there was more going on than anything they expected to be routine, and were unable to wake him up safely. We learned that Jamie had contracted sepsis and meningitis and that he was in a life-threatening condition.

The doctors at RUH Bath worked on Jamie around the clock, and they very honestly told us that the CT scans confirmed that the infection was so severe that it could be seen in every muscle and every joint in his body. The consultant told us that they “did not think that he was going to make it”. Nevertheless, they continued to do everything that they could.

After 16 very long days of Jamie being in the coma and 14 surgeries to wash out the worst pockets of infection, the blood results showed that the antibiotics were beginning to work and that he was finally, clinically, beginning to improve.

We move to today, and Jamie is awake now; although he is not out of the woods just yet, as there is still some infection present, his condition is no longer life-threatening.

The tireless efforts of the staff at RUH have effectively saved Jamie’s life.

Jamie has many months of rehabilitation ahead of him, including strengthening every muscle in his body, which will enable him to carry out even the simplest of tasks, like holding a cup and eventually being able to walk again. During this time, he will not be able to work.

We are raising money to help support Jamie financially during this time and to ensure that we keep Jamie’s home whilst he undergoes his recovery, and until he is able to return to work. Being able to do this will help make the recovery much less stressful, and it will mean that he will still have his home and that his children can be with him, as well as our dad, whilst he recovers.

As a family, we are so grateful for every message of support we have received from you all and to the staff at RUH.

How he contracted this infection still remains a mystery! Keep fighting Jamie!