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West Sussex boy wants to 'enjoy life' after losing legs to sepsis

West Sussex boy wants to 'enjoy life' after losing legs to sepsis

BBC News3 days ago
A 13-year-old boy who lost both legs to sepsis says he is getting his strength back and looking forward to the future, a year after being placed in an induced coma.Austin first went into hospital in June 2024 with leg pain. He later developed a life-threatening blood infection and underwent months of treatment, including two induced comas and care at Evelina London Children's Hospital.The teenager, from Rusper in West Sussex, had his left leg amputated in August 2024 and his right in February 2025 after efforts to save it failed.Now fitted with prosthetic limbs, Austin said: "I can't change what happened in the past, but I can change what is in front of me."
Austin has returned to school and has had to learn to walk again. He said: "So much has changed - I'm getting my strength back and trying new things."He first became unwell after complaining of leg pain. His grandmother noticed the tips of his ears turning blue and he was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with sepsis, the life-threatening blood infection. He was placed in a coma for three days.Later, he developed a secondary infection and was induced into a coma again.His father, Warwick, said: "My wife and I were told to prepare for the worst. "In life a lot of people take their health for granted, and so did we, but suddenly you realise how fragile it is."It makes you focus on what is important in life."
A keen sportsperson, Austin has swapped hockey for wheelchair tennis and basketball. He is also rowing with Paralympic gold medallist Rachel Morris."I'm just trying so many different things and enjoying life," he said.
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Renae died from a rare brain disease after getting measles as a baby. Now, her mother wants more children to get vaccines
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Renae died from a rare brain disease after getting measles as a baby. Now, her mother wants more children to get vaccines

The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died from complications of measles has urged parents to have their children vaccinated amid a surge of cases. Renae Archer was too young to have the MMR vaccine when she caught the infection at just five months old. A decade later, she was diagnosed with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a very rare brain disease. She died in 2023. Her mother Becky believes Renae might not have caught measles if more people had inoculated their children. The warning comes as rates of vaccine uptake continue to fall. The recent death of a child with measles at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool put the focus on a surge of cases in a city with low levels of vaccination. It has left communities with rates of vaccination below the 95% level seen to provide herd immunity, where enough people are protected to prevent the virus spreading. Becky Archer said: "It does make me quite sad and angry because they are potentially putting their children at risk. "We just want people to open their eyes to someone that's actually been through it and not the nonsense that's being spread out on social media or on telly. "I just want people to be knowledgeable of how serious a situation can be." The latest figures on childhood vaccination show that coverage in the UK has been falling in recent years and is now below that target of 95% for all vaccines by age five. The vaccination rate for England is lower than in other UK nations, and particularly low in London. Just 60% in Hackney have had their full measles vaccination course by their fifth birthday, compared to 89.2% on average across Scotland - though the rate in Scotland has also fallen from 93% a decade earlier. Outside of London, the North West now has among the lowest vaccination rates for most of the main childhood vaccines. Liverpool has the lowest measles vaccination rate outside of London, with more than a quarter of children not completing a full MMR vaccination course by their fifth birthday, according to the latest NHS figures for 2023/24. Seventeen cases of measles have been recorded at Alder Hey in recent weeks, and doctors are reassuring parents that the vaccine is safe, free and available. The hospital's chief nurse Nathan Askew said: "Measles is often thought of as just a routine childhood illness but actually it's incredibly contagious. "The problem is that when that's passed on, particularly in schools, nurseries and other environments where children are close together, there's a real problem with children becoming unwell." Low immunisation rates have been blamed on vaccine hesitancy among parents, but experts say a lack of information on the importance and availability of vaccines is also a significant factor. At a catch-up clinic in Liverpool, parents including Natalia Figeuroa have been bringing their children in. She admits she lost track of her son's vaccinations, but worries that parents are being confused. "I think parents are trying to make the right decision but the misinformation that's out there is overclouding their judgement," she said. "My child attends a specialist provision which is a school that carries many children with disabilities, physically and mentally, and it's really hard to see that those kids could be exposed to an illness that is quite preventable with a vaccine. "I'm hoping parents will start to think not only about their own children but those other children who cannot get vaccinations for numerous reasons." Becky Archer was due to give birth the day she was told that Renae's condition was fatal. She died a few days later, and her mother believes she would want her story told. "She was really caring person and she wouldn't have wanted any other family to go through losing their child," she said.

Yusuf Nazir: New report examines death of boy who was sent home from hospital due to a 'lack of beds'
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"I knew he was very, very poorly, he was struggling to breath, he was lethargic, he was floppy," Soniya told Sky News. "I knew that something's not right before they even escalated it to the ICU. I knew he was very poorly but no one else picked it up." The health secretary told Sky News: "There are no excuses for the tragic failings in the lead up to Yusuf's death, and I know first-hand how hard it has been for his family to live without the answers they deserve. "This independent report reveals their concerns were repeatedly not addressed across NHS services. "It is now the responsibility of the NHS to implement the recommendations in this report so that the family can at least take small comfort in knowing that because of Yusuf - and thanks to Yusuf - children will be safer and better cared for in the future, but I know that really is of no consolation for a loving family living with the unimaginable pain of losing a lovely little boy in these awful circumstances." 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And I think that's the reason Yusuf's not here anymore. "From the moment he was in Sheffield Children's Hospital until the end I think he didn't get any treatment, it was just like him being at home." Soniya says she welcomes the report's findings that show Yusuf did not get the care he needed - but the investigation does not find a cause of death or apportion blame. The investigation has made national recommendations, including consultant-led oversight on weekends and giving parents visibility of their child's medical records. Sky News has closely followed the family's fight for answers since first reporting on Yusuf's case, two days after he died. 1:04 Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We recognise the profound loss felt by Yusuf's family and those who loved him. 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Professor Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety in England, said: "Our sympathies remain with Yusuf's family, and we acknowledge the heavy toll this investigation has placed on them - while grieving an unimaginable loss. "Following publication of the final report today, we will respond on the findings and how we will be taking forward the recommendations in the report to ensure there are continuing improvements in patient safety and care for children across NHS hospitals and services in the future." The Nazir family's fight is not over. This report cannot confirm Yusuf's cause of death, or say if his life could have been saved with better care. It is why Soniya is demanding a coroner's inquest into her son's death: so that she and her family can finally have closure.

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