Archer’s story

Archer woke as his normal happy self but within a couple of hours, he was unsettled, moaning, and had a high temperature.  A little later he became very sleepy and would scream if he was touched, and when his lips started changing from grey to purple his parent knew something was seriously wrong.   The Doctor had seen Archer earlier that day but, on the way back to see him, his parents decided to go straight to the hospital instead – a decision that may have saved Archer’s life.

When we arrived at Ipswich Hospital, Archer started to get a purple rash on his chest, so the doctors knew straight away it was meningococcal.  The initial treatment was antibiotics, and Archer was pumped full of fluid, adrenaline and many other drugs to keep him alive.

Once stabilised Archer was transferred to Brisbane and spent six days in PICU and four weeks in the ward.

“Life changed a lot when we first brought Archer home.  He was on full 24-hour watch, every four to six hours he would need medicine and he had ports in his legs/feet that I would need to flush in between those hours.  We had to take each day as it came and understand Archer would have more bad than good days as he was still undergoing a lot of treatment, and it would be a long time before Archer would be back to normal and feeling himself.” Katelyn, Archer’s mum told us.

Archer and his family made numerous trips to the hospital for various appointments.  Archer had ongoing treatment with the burns team, plastic surgeons, and occupational therapists and to date, he has had nine surgeries, four skin grafts and two fingers amputated.

“Archer loves music therapy.  He didn’t like strangers coming into the room when he was a baby but he would sit back and watch Kylie play her guitar and loved all the interments. He also loved the bedside play volunteers; they would come in and distract him from any pain he was in and it was absolutely lovely to see what they do for children in hospital like Archer.” Said Katelyn.

Archer is now four years old and has a new baby sister who he adores.  Despite all he has been through Archer is a happy, energetic, and determined little boy.  He is currently preparing for major surgery on his ankles to try and correct his ankles, legs, and hips, but he’s still smiling and facing it head-on as he has with all the other challenges he’s overcome.