‘We thought my brother, 5, had a tummy bug — days later he died’

Five-year-old Jude Platts died just 24 hours after doctors diagnosed him with a rare and devastating form of meningitis.

The young boy from Liverpool began vomiting during the Christmas period in December 2025. He had no temperature or any other warning signs, leading his family to assume he’d merely picked up a stomach bug and so expected the illness to pass.

Jude continued being sick throughout the morning and into afternoon. Then, at around 8pm, the youngster’s condition suddenly worsened when he suffered a seizure. Alarmed relatives immediately called an ambulance.

At hospital the seizure continued and the left side of his body became paralysed. Doctors initially believed he may have suffered a stroke. During examinations they realised Jude had stopped breathing. He was rushed to resuscitation and placed in a medically induced coma.

Scans revealed that he had encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by infection. A few hours later, at around 4am, doctors told his family he was in a critical condition and had just a small chance of pulling through.

Later that day an MRI confirmed the devastating diagnosis of streptococcal pneumonia meningitis. The infection affects the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord, and can lead to death or long-term disability.

Despite further tests and treatment, Jude didn’t respond. Doctors later told his mum Sasha and dad Nathaniel that there was no brain activity at all. The family made the incredibly heartbreaking decision to switch off Jude’s life support on New Year’s Eve.

Jude had been born with a rare chromosome disorder called microdeletion 16p11.2 which affected his ability to walk and speak. Doctors once believed he might never walk. But he proved them wrong and grew into what relatives described as a very happy and bubbly child.

His older brother Adam Platts, 25, remembers him as a joyful presence in the family. ‘Jude had an infectious personality, he could light up any room, he was always happy, never sad,’ he said. ‘He’s always been a fighter, he broke down every obstacle in his way.’

Adam added: ‘One day over Christmas he started throwing up, we assumed he just had a bug. That evening he started having a seizure, it just came out of nowhere. In the hospital, he became paralysed.’

He said scans later revealed the seriousness of the infection. ‘Scans showed he had encephalitis, doctors said he was in an extremely critical condition, with just 5% chance of survival. They said they’d never seen an infection affect the brain so quickly and aggressively.’

Adam continued: ‘Later that day, we received the worst news ever, that there was no brain activity at all from Jude. We made the decision to turn off life support, and he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family. It was heartbreaking. Jude was so special to all of us.’

The Platts family launched a GoFundMe page to help give Jude the send-off they feel he deserves. Adam, an engineer, said: ‘We don’t want a generic gravestone, we want to go all out, and make sure he is remembered.’

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