The Brisbane parents of a five-month-old boy battling meningococcal disease are hoping they'll be spending Christmas at home as a family and not at the hospital.
Four days after there were grave fears for his life, Archie Roberts is expected to make a near full recovery.
Parents Josh Roberts and Katelyn Galea feared he may die last Thursday night when they made a 40-minute dash from Greenbank, southwest of Brisbane, to Ipswich Hospital.
What was first diagnosed as a likely ear infection, became the couple's worst nightmare when Archie's lips turned grey and he developed rashes on his chest.
Photos posted on Mr Roberts' Facebook page show Archie in a hospital bed at Brisbane's Lady Cilento Hospital, with tubes taped to his mouth, an IV drip in his wrist, ECG electrodes stuck to his chest and his legs, stomach and hands covered in rashes.
"It's his first Christmas, so it would be great to be home for Christmas," Mr Roberts told AAP.
"It's a six-week recovery. They think it will be a full recovery but he may lose a couple of fingertips."
A childhood friend of Katelyn, Katie Maconachie, has started a crowd funding page on gofundme.com to assist the couple with their mounting hospital bills.
The fund has exceeded its $5000 target with more than $7400 being donated to the family.
They plan to donate any excess funds to a children's charity.
Archie's diagnosis came virtually the same day another young boy was taken from a north Brisbane childcare centre to Prince Charles Hospital with the bacterial infection.
Mr Roberts, a diesel mechanic, says it's unclear how Archie caught the disease.
"He's a breastfed baby, never been in child care and has always been very healthy," he said.
"We don't know how to thank people for all the support we've been given."
Share
