Girls give up drinkto raise £600 inmemory of Jamie

Louise Moore, Danielle Ross and Carol-Ann Williamson, all from the Waterside, banished alcohol for 31 days in memory of Louise’s nine-month-old nephew, Jamie Cowey, who died ten years ago from meningitis.

In the process, they raised hundreds of pounds for Meningitis Now - the UK’s largest meningitis charity.

Emma, Jamie’s mum, said: “We’re proud of Louise, Danielle and Carol-Ann for completing ‘Sober October’ in Jamie’s name. Meningitis Now has been close to our hearts since we lost Jamie to the terrible disease.

“We’re grateful that our family and friends support us all the way. It’s through this that Jamie’s memory lives on and helps the fight.”

Emma recalled the terrible day that Jamie took ill.

“Jamie awoke bright as a button, had breakfast and played. By early afternoon, he was falling asleep in his dad’s arms, which was unusual, but we put it down to a busy weekend.

“Jamie seemed different when he awoke two hours later at 4pm. He didn’t really want to be moved and moaned when Darren [his dad] lifted him.

“He was hot, so I called the doctor.”

Jamie was taken to the doctor at 4.30pm and seemed brighter, but Emma noticed a purple spot on the back of his neck. The doctor advised them to go home and to ring back if his condition worsened.

At around 6pm, Jamie started vomiting and seemed thirsty, but could not keep his bottle down. Emma rang the doctor and they went to hospital.

Emma said: “Everything went so fast – our world turned upside down. Jamie had needles coming from everywhere. We could see the purple spots spreading down his chest and he was awake looking for us. We were confused when they mentioned meningitis and that he needed moving to a bigger hospital. Jamie was put on life support and an ambulance, with police escort, rushed him to the next hospital.”

On arrival, they were told that Jamie had suffered a massive heart attack.

Emma said: “We went to see Jamie – he was so small, surrounded by beeping machinery. We held his hand and his heart failed a few times. His wee body was completely covered by the rash.”

At about 11am, doctors said Jamie could fight no more and, the next time his heart stopped, the family would have to let him go.

Emma said: “Nurses lifted him into our arms and his daddy and I held him tight. We told him to be so brave and kissed his tiny head – Jamie’s heart stopped at 11.10 am.”

Meningitis Now founder Steve Dayman added: “What Jamie’s family and friends have achieved for us in his memory is amazing.”