Good Friday Appeal: Shepparton mum Emily Hepner reveals son’s viral meningitis

A regional Victorian mum watched as doctors punctured her baby’s spine with a needle. Now she is rallying support for the hospital that saved his life.

Shepparton mum Emily Hepner with her son Mason. Picture: Supplied

He was only weeks old when Shepparton mum Emily Hepner realised something wasn’t right with her newborn.

Mason cried every time he was held, had a sore stomach, trouble feeding and diarrhoea — but when he started breathing strangely she knew something was terribly wrong.

Mason was breathing rapidly, taking 60 breaths a minute.

“I just thought I needed to get him checked … I didn’t think it would escalate like it did,” Ms Hepner said.

She said her baby was barely able to stay awake by the time they arrived at the Goulburn Valley Health emergency department.

She said five doctors assessed him within an hour before they were taken in an ambulance to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital.

Ms Hepner said doctors inserted a needle into Mason’s spinal canal, with the fluids revealing an elevated level of white blood cells.

Tests confirmed an inflammation in his brain and spinal cord and Mason was diagnosed with viral meningitis caused by parechovirus.

Shepparton boy Mason Hepner was diagnosed with viral meningitis and spent five days in the neonatal intensive care unit at The Royal Children's Hospital. Picture: Supplied

For five days Ms Hepner and her husband Leigh stayed at a nearby Ronald McDonald House while as Mason recovered in the neonatal intensive unit, receiving around the clock care.

“It was pretty horrible seeing your little baby so sick and having to leave him,” she said.

Ms Hepner said the care she and her family received was “absolutely amazing”.

“The doctors and nurses they’re such special people,” she said.

Ms Hepner said Mason was now a happy, healthy and cheeky 17 month old boy.

She said he had been cleared of any signs of brain damage or hearing loss, but he would need ongoing tests to check for any lingering damage.

The mother of three has called for Victorians to dig deep and donate to the Good Friday Appeal which helps save the lives of children like Mason.