It was March 2020 and all seemed well in the world. We heard news of Covid-19 but it all seemed so distant until it wasn't!
Just as the country went into national lockdown, Thomas started having full body seizures. Seizure after seizure came and everyone feared the worst, a brain tumour. Thomas looked so tiny - just 5 years old and in year 1. Our happy little baby was in a really bad way. He was barely conscious for over 2 days. When he finally came to, Thomas didn't know where he was, who he was and (more difficult for us) who we were. In fact, Thomas couldn't really speak or communicate very well.
The team at Gloucester Royal were fantastic. Despite the hazmat suits and Covid security, the team made us feel cared for and loved. The children's ward was/is run by angels. They made sure that Thomas kept smiling, which even helped us to smile too!. They had an inkling that Thomas might like Lego, and very kindly gifted him some! His fixation with design had well and truly been inspired.
Test after test led the team to diagnose that Thomas had epilepsy. In fact, it was while Thomas was still in hospital on this 6th birthday, that we were given this news.
One week after we had entered hospital, Thomas was allowed home. for the night. However, our journey as a family had just begun.