Sheffield boy diagnosed with meningitis at 10-days-old runs 90 miles for hospital charity

Riley Frost 12 swapped his football boots for running shoes to raise an amazing £2,000 for the hospital which saved his life as an infant.

“Riley came up with the idea of running 90 miles in April for a cause very close to his heart all on his own.” said proud mum Caroline.

The Stocksbridge High School pupil completed his challenge on April 30 running on routes around Stocksbridge Wharncliffe Side and Deepcar and the Trans-Pennine Trail; and running on a treadmill in the gym to hit the 90 mile mark.

So far he has raised £2,070.

She told how her son was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis when he was just 10 days old.

"He’d slept through the night and 10-day-old babies don’t do that, said Caroline.

“That was when I woke up and realised something was wrong.

“The only thing he had was a high temperature.

“There was no tell-tale rash or anything like that.”

Riley spent four and a half weeks in the Children’s Hospital and after he was discharged he had to go back for treatment with his hearing, sight and had brain scans.

Caroline added: “He had a really good recovery – on his discharge day the doctors said his recovery had gone really well and they thought it was because it was acted upon very quickly.

“I think the main thing is raising awareness for this because people do think with meningitis you look for a rash and if the rash doesn’t go under the glass then you don’t get it looked at.

“But he was so young he was taken in in and within an hour he had a lumber puncture and was hooked up to IVs. If there is a high temperature it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

She said Riley came up with the fundraising idea himself.

“We got in touch with the Children’s Hospital charity and they were really good and supportive.

"He started this journey just wanting to raise £150, so the fact that he has gone well above £2,000 is unbelievable. He’s a really strong little boy and I am so, so proud of him.

"He has done all this by himself. Riley knows about meningitis, he knows that lots of other children haven’t been so lucky.”

“He’s football mad, he plays for Stocksbridge Park Steels. He had a few of his friends running alongside to support him and at the end he had the football team cheering him on.”

Riley said: “it was a very worrying time for my family. I was very poorly and my life could have been very different to how it is today. Now I am old enough to take responsibility and commited to taking part in a fundraiser, with the support of my family and friends I would like to raise as much money to help pay for treatment for other children.”

If you want to support Riley’s fundraiser, his JustGiving page is open until June. Link here

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