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Mother's gift of life to son

14.09.11

A SUNDERLAND mum preparing to give her son the gift of life after he contracted the devastating brain bug meningitis is looking to her local community for support.

Sharon Archer, 46, nearly lost her son Jack when he was a baby and she will do anything to save his life again - including donating one of her kidneys.

When Jack, now 15, fell ill with meningitis aged 22-months, doctors told his devastated parents Sharon and Tim that the prognosis did not look good.

But Jack who amazed the medical team and his family by pulling through, has been left with kidney failure.

His family is organising a disco, raffle and auction in Pennywell to thank the charities who have helped them pull through the tough times.

Sharon said: “Jack is a fighter – he was in intensive care and we were told there was a 50/50 chance of him surviving. Then he was put into an induced coma for two weeks.

“It was a terrifying time for us but we had the support of family and friends and the amazing medical staff at the hospital.

“Jack has been through so much and the kidney transplant is the next huge hurdle, but he is such a positive person and he is determined not to let this stop him.”

Meningoccocal meningitis and septicaemia restricted the blood flow in Jack’s body which meant he had to have the tips of his fingers amputated on his left hand along with half of his little finger.

The blood poisoning also forced doctors to remove a chunk from his knee which was then operated on again in 2007.

Now Jack’s mum Sharon is waiting to be told when she will be needed to donate a kidney.

She said: “Jack’s kidneys are now functioning at 40 per cent but the doctors said they are going to wait until they are at 20 per cent.

“This could take six months or six days, we don’t know. But this was not a hard decision to make. I would do anything to help my son. I just want him to be a healthy boy.”

Jack also has the support of his younger siblings Melanie 13 and Karl 14 and now his family is asking their local community to get behind them in a fundraising night.

Sharon added: “We are holding an auction, raffle and disco fundraising night in the Pennywell Comrades Club for the British Kidney Patient Association and Meningitis UK to give something back to the people who have helped us.

“We hope people come along and show support and really enjoy themselves.”

Meningitis UK’s chief executive Steve Dayman who lost his son Spencer to meningitis, said: “Sharon and Jack have shown tremendous strength and everyone at Meningitis UK is behind them as they move forward through this difficult time.

“We are extremely grateful that they have decided to do some fundraising which will go towards developing vital life-saving vaccines against all forms of meningitis and associated diseases.”

For more information about Meningitis UK or to donate call 0117 947 6320 or visit www.meningitisuk.org