I just heard from my sister today that my nephew, Ben has contracted Meningococcal Septicaemia and is on a ventilator. He was brought in Thursday night at 2:00 AM. He was covered in black splotches caused by the infection.
He is now on a 48 hour watch. If he survives the next 48 hours then he should make a good recovery. I don't want to think of the alternative.
Ben is about 8 months old.
The London Health Unit has quarantined the family and all have been given antibiotics. So they aren't having any visitors for a while.
So it is obvious my sister and her family are not having a merry Christmas this year.
UPDATE: He has been taken off the ventilator and is breathing on his own. There was a spike in his temperature but the doctors aren't sure why. He is doing better. He was semi-conscious and was able to respond to my sister and squeeze her finger. He was checked out today by the plastic surgery team to see what kind of restoration is necessary. He has the dark blotches that could turn necrotic. These will form scars regardless. He will be assessed later on for neurologic impairment as well as hearing impairment. He maybe hospitalized for up to a month. This is good news so far!