South Yorkshire mum issues plea after son, 7, dies following seizure

A grieving South Yorkshire mum has told how her little boy was left fighting for his life in a coma just 24 hours after this smiling school photo was taken.
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Seven-year-old Liam Allen, from Rotherham, had epilepsy - which had not been diagnosed - and was getting ready for bed when he had a fit a day later.

His parents and medics battled to get it to stop, but after three-and-a-half hours they had to put him into a coma, and he never woke up.

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This last treasured photo shows his doting mum Paula, 38, holding his hand before he slipped away.

Liam Allen died on November 24.Liam Allen died on November 24.
Liam Allen died on November 24.

She's releasing the touching photos - taken just two days apart - to raise awareness of the fast nature of epilepsy, a condition Liam was diagnosed with after the post-mortem.

The mum-of-five from Rotherham, South Yorkshire said: “He went to his nan’s that night, slept at his nan’s house - he was absolutely fine until the morning.

“She phoned us up and said he’d been sick and he was shivering.

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“About 9:30pm that night, I checked him again and he’d got a temperature - I gave him some Calpol.

Liam Allen and mum Paula.Liam Allen and mum Paula.
Liam Allen and mum Paula.

“My husband went in about 10:10pm and told him it was time for bed.

“He went in the bathroom to get washed and brush his teeth, and then when he came out, David shouted, ‘Paula, quick he’s fitting’.”

Doctors tried to stop the seizure for three hours - after no success, they put Liam into a medically-induced coma.

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He was transferred to hospital in Sheffield for further treatment in the ICU, but there was nothing the doctors could do and he passed away on November 24.

Liam Allen's school photo from just 24 hours before his seizure.Liam Allen's school photo from just 24 hours before his seizure.
Liam Allen's school photo from just 24 hours before his seizure.

Paula admits she didn’t know enough about seizures and is calling for parents to be aware that a high temperature could be a telltale sign of an imminent fit.

She said: “There are a lot of different types of seizures - there’s not just falling on the floor and jerking.

“The ones where he was sitting in the car, he was just quite vacant and not responding to me. People need to not take them for granted.”