4-year-old dies hours after he was taken to hospital with a high temperature

A Waterloo boy died just hours after his mother Katie took him to the hospital for a high temperature. Now she is spreading the news about a "silent killer."

Enzo Joyce, four, was declared brain dead at the Calderdale Royal Hospital on Thursday at about 4 p.m. Prior to that, he showed no signs of serious illness aside from a high temperature.

According to Examiner Live, Enzo, who was an older brother to Reeco, died from meningitis. Now his family is going through "the worst pain [they] have ever experienced." Not least of all because there were no symptoms to warn them.

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Sarah Joyce, Enzo's grandmother said:

"Enzo was a perfectly healthy, loving, giving little boy who had his whole life taken away unexpectedly and suddenly by such a quiet disease."

Symptoms such as cold chills, muscle pains, rapid breathing, rashes, and diarrhea were all absent from the young boy as he fell sick.

Joyce continued:

"It's a silent killer. Even Calderdale Hospital are shocked, especially as Enzo was up to date with immunizations."

Relatives and family will lay the boy to rest on Friday, November 30 in honor of what would have been Enzo's fifth birthday. The family requested that those who attend wear colorful superhero costumes to bid Enzo farewell.

Katie's friend Rebecca set up a crowdfunding page to organize what Sarah described as "Enzo's final birthday and Christmas party." They raised £4,000 for funeral expenses and to give Reeco something special.

On the tributary page, Sarah wrote:

"[Enzo] was my perfect, pure, adorable first love. [We] want to highlight this atrocious disease and one million percent we wouldn't want any other family to go through what we are going through."

She added:

"There's feelings of 'why, how, are you sure?' There's so much support but we are still lonely, it's surreal."

Another four-year-old boy passed away after succumbing to blood poisoning due to a similar disease. Alfie got sick on his first day of school and was given a common medicine named Calpol.

The next day, a purple rash appeared all over his skill. His parents rushed him to the Derriford Hospital. He was later transferred to Bristol Children's ICU.

Authorities informed the family that Alfie had meningococcal septicemia. Soon, "his organs were shutting down, and his arms, legs, and face had been irreparably damaged."

Alfie's aunt Dani said her nephew "fought so bravely." But he passed on September 23 after they took him off of life support. It was 12 days after Alfrie was admitted.

The family may have been able to prevent the attack through a private vaccination. Sadly, they were unaware of the £220 routine introduced 17 months before their son's affliction.

Another young child died from meningitis even after she was checked by doctors. Kirsty Ermenekli was treated as if she was paranoid when she brought in her daughter for flu-like symptoms.

Staff at the Royal Oldham Hospital said Layla-Rose, 6, simply had a viral infection. The two were sent home but Ermenekli returned as her daughter's suffering continued.

Eight hours into her visit, Layla-Rose passed away. The hospital was investigated for negligence.

Meningitis refers to an inflammation of the meninges - the inner walls of the brain and spinal cord. A similar disease, septicemia, arises from the same germs and causes blood poisoning.

Symptoms of meningitis in young children include fever and headaches in the early stages. Later on, they may experience cold hands and chills, pain in the limbs, and pale skin.

Serious signs are rash, confusion, an aversion to bright lights, neck stiffness and even seizures. If you suspect at all that a child is ill, take them to a medical institution right away.