‘No one talks about the fact chickenpox is dangerous’
Don’t shun jabs urges mother of boy left disabled by illness
THE mother of a boy who caught chickenpox twice and suffered a devastating brain injury has urged parents to vaccinate their children.
Once an outgoing boy who loved school, Tom Homewood, 12, has lifelong disabilities including depression and anxiety.
He is cared for by his parents Rebecca, 49, who is training to be a counsellor, and Jason, 52.
Rebecca said: “Tom’s childhood has been destroyed. A vaccination may have avoided that.
“No one talks about the fact that chickenpox is dangerous.
“It never occurred to me that my child could get an illness like that and become so disabled.
“I would challenge everybody having second thoughts about having their child vaccinated for the MMR, or MMRV as it becomes, to do their research based on scientific evidence before they make a decision.”
Just before Tom’s sixth birthday and three days after he contracted chickenpox, his temperature rose above 42C, he had a seizure, and began slurring his speech. He was diagnosed with muscle weakening illness myasthenia gravis and encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – as an autoimmune response to the chickenpox virus. A year later, Tom again caught chickenpox, saw “monsters” and showed symptoms of psychosis.
He was diagnosed with encephalitis a second time, and a brain lesion.
Rebecca, who lives nearTunbridge Wells, Kent, said: “We adore him, but it feels like we have two children...one of them we lost.”
About 700,000 UK under-10s have chickenpox each year, leading to around 24 chickenpox encephalitis cases, according to Encephalitis International.
Chief executive Dr Ava Easton said: “Chickenpox is not a harmless childhood disease. It can cause life-changing brain injuries, disabilities, and even death.”