Sheffield boy, 14, left fighting for life after cold turns into deadly brain infection

Super fit Sam Levitt spent 12 days in hospital - two of those in an induced coma - after doctors had to remove part of his skull to clear away bacteria.

The schoolboy underwent a five-hour emergency procedure at Sheffield Children's Hospital when an MRI scan revealed the severity of the infection.

What started as a simple cold developed into sinusitis, then spreading to his eye - becoming bacterial infection cellulitis - and then, within days, to his brain.

Shocked mum Lis said: "I did not know in a million years that somebody could one minute be suffering with sinusitis and the next, fighting for their lives.

"Sam was very poorly with the sinusitis, his headaches were so bad he was sleeping mostly in his bedroom but I cannot believe it got to this - where we are thankful that he's here."

Sam had returned to school after being off for a couple of days in September last year, when he started to suffer with excruciating sinus headaches.

Within days the infection from his sinuses soon spread to his eye - which became so angry, swollen and sore it looked like he had been punched.

Sam, who has since turned 15, went to the doctors with his mum where he was prescribed antibiotics.

When this didn't clear up they went to the emergency department at Sheffield Children's Hospital where they were given different antibiotics.

"Amazingly he seemed to be getting better," said Lis, a 44-year-old business administration manager, "but just a couple of nights later he took a turn for the worse."

Sam had fallen asleep downstairs so his mum and dad, IT manager Shaun, 49, went to bed and left him there.

But soon after, his brother Aiden, 17, ran upstairs to tell them something was wrong with Sam.

Sam had woken up and was staring into space and was making a funny clicking noise.

He then started to fit.

An ambulance was called to their home in Sheffield, and he was rushed back to Sheffield Children's Hospital with suspected meningitis.

He was immediately sedated and tests revealed he had an infection on his brain and only a craniectomy – surgery to remove a part of your skull in order to relieve pressure – could save him.

"It starts to fry your head when you think of the enormity of it all, to think we may have lost him," said Lis.

"Just weeks before, Sam was accepted on a training course to start sprinting with Sheffield Hallam University and now he was fighting for his life.

"There was no warning whatsoever.

"It was so scary waiting for him to come out of the operation. Those hours were the worst of our lives.

"When he came out of the operation he had to be in an induced coma for two days in intensive care to let his brain heal.

"Luckily they had put his skull back together during the operation, but he was left with quite a scar.

"We did not know what he was going to be like when he came round."

Remarkably, Sam appeared back to his normal self and was soon embarrassed with all the care and attention.

He was being pumped with antibiotics for the remainder of his stay on the neurology ward.

He continued to take drugs for a further four weeks, with nurses attending to him at home.

Lis said: "He does tire easily and he's not yet back to school full-time but he is pretty much back to normal.

"It all seems surreal what we have been through."

Lis is so grateful to the team at Sheffield Children's Hospital and the care they gave Sam that she is running in the London Marathon in April to raise money and say thanks.

She has a Just Giving page set up: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lislevitt

Rachael Thomas, events fundraising officer at The Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “It’s fantastic to hear that Sam is home with his family again, thanks to the life-saving care he received at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

“I was really moved when I heard Lis was going to run the London Marathon to express her gratitude.

"We’re so thankful for her support, which will make a life-changing difference to our young patients and wish her the very best of luck in April.”

Sinusitis is a common condition - affecting between about 10 and 30 percent of people each year in the United States and Europe.

However, in very rare cases - about one in 10,000 - infection can spread to the area surrounding the eye, the bones, the blood or the brain.

This can be fatal unless treated quickly.