Mother thanks Alder Hey Children's Hospital staff who saved her son's life

Video report by ITV Granada Reports' journalist Zoe Muldoon.

The mother of a teenager who spent more than eight months in Alder Hey after he was found unresponsive has returned to the hospital to thank staff who saved her son.

James Eaton, from Cheshire, spent the first few weeks of of 2022 fighting for his life in after developing a rare auto-immune disease.

In December 2021, the 14-year-old was found by unresponsive in bed by his mother, Georgia, after suffering a violent seizure at home.

He was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool with a collapsed lung, major chest infection and sepsis.

Lynne Wright, House Manager at Ronald McDonald House Alder Hey, said: "James was really ill.

"We had three or four episodes where his fever would go up, his blood pressure would drop and he would have seizures.

"At one stage we thought he wouldn't survive."

James spent four weeks in intensive care. His mother, Georgia, said nobody could understand why he was so ill and it was only due to his strength that he "pulled through".

The teenager was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, a rare neurological condition which causes inflammation of the brain.

Finally, after months in hospital, James was well enough to leave and returned home to Ellesmere Port.

Back visiting the hospital, his mother, Georgia, said: "You don't know whether your child is going to survive.

"When the teams are speaking to other hospitals around the world, thinking of all different kinds of treatments to keep you son going. I'm ever so grateful to them."

Georgia was given a place to stay at Ronald McDonald House, just a few minutes walk away from James who was staying in Alder Hey.

"It's not just a roof over your head, where you can sleep and rest, but the people here are incredible", she said.

"The support you get from them - they are like family.

"They put their arms around you. They look after you. If you're struggling, they're there."

The Eaton family are now looking towards their future together at home, but their second family are never far from their thoughts.

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