Family’s ‘11 challenges’ to remember Ieuan

Family’s ‘11 challenges’ to remember Ieuan

By Des Turner

IEUAN Pugh was just 11 years old when he suddenly and tragically lost his life to Meningococcal Septicaemia and Sepsis.

Like any boy his age, Ieuan was full of life, just starting out on his journey of secondary school, and he was also an Able Junior Sea Cadet with the Barry Sea Cadets, something he had great pride and passion in.

As the second anniversary of his death approaches, Ieuan’s family want to do something positive to honour their son and brother’s memory, and to raise awareness of Sepsis whilst giving something back to the charities that meant so much to Ieuan, and to those that have supported the heartbroken family since.

Ieuan was always obsessed from a young age with anyone in uniform, more specifically armed forces but also police, fire, etc. Ieuan’s older step-brother Joshua joined the Royal Navy when he was 16, and Ieuan wanted to join the cadets.

Speaking with the Glamorgan Star, Ieuan’s mother Samantha Watkins said: “He loved it, and was soon asking to do extra. He also took part in Remembrance Services through the Sea Cadets and at school and in November 2019, two weeks before he passed away, he was selected as the junior cadet to lay the wreath with the senior cadet.

“Ieuan lived at home with me, his stepdad Mark, sister Seren, step-sister Jamie-Lyn and half sibling twin brothers Alfie and Charlie. Ieuan also spent time with his dad on alternative weekends.

“In November 2020, I came up with the idea of doing 11 challenges in memory of Ieuan as a way of coping. His sister Seren, then aged nine, wanted to help so did a slightly scaled down version. We raised £4,429.54 which was then shared between The Poppy Appeal, The UK Sepsis Trust, and 2 Wish Upon A Star.”

Ieuan’s family volunteer with the Barry Poppy Appeal and Samantha with Barry Sea Cadets. The girls have now joined as juniors as Seren was 10 in August and finally able to join.

This year, Seren thought it a good idea to do another fundraising event to help everyone to remember Ieuan and support the charities. Samantha has set up a GoFundMe page for donations.

Samantha said, “I’ve really have been struggling as the anniversary approaches, but I have decided that we will do it, more for Seren’s sake, as mentally I’m struggling to deal with the anniversary. The second anniversary is so much worse. I think I was still numb and in denial for the first year.

“Seren has decided that we should do this as an annual thing. All the challenges will be completed throughout the rest of November. We are both afraid of heights, so we have set ourselves the super challenge of doing the zipline at Phoenix Ziptower at Aberdare – the world’s fastest seated zipline.”

Ieuan was 11 when he died. Therefore, 11 challenges have been chosen and set by Seren to complete in this the 11th month:

◼ 11 miles (Route to be confirmed)

◼ 100 bounces on a trampoline for 11 days

◼ 11 Cosmic Yoga Sessions

◼ Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course (The next stage)

◼ Eating only one colour for a whole day

◼ Sitting in a Baked Bean Bath for 11 Minutes

◼ 50/50 Raffle

◼ Virtual Cycling Coast to Coast 140 miles

◼ Taking over the radio show on Rookwood Sounds

◼ Turn the place yellow, everyone wearing and changing their social media yellow on 25th November

◼ Complete the world’s fastest seated zip line

Samantha would like to share the events that led up to the death of Ieuan with Glamorgan Star readers. She hopes to raise awareness of Sepsis:

Samantha said: “On November 22nd, 2019, Ieuan had gone to spend the weekend with his dad but upon his return on November 24th, he was feeling unwell, complaining of tummy upset, and generally feeling lethargic. Assuming it to be something viral, I gave him Calpol before he went to rest in bed.”

Checking on Ieuan several times that evening, Samantha had no reason to believe anything was seriously wrong.

Samantha continued: “I went to check on Ieuan a little while later, and he asked for another drink but seemed okay. When I went to bed myself, I checked on Ieuan again, I noticed a patch on the floor and realised he had been sick. After putting on the light, I realised he was now covered head to toe in a deep purple rash.

“I immediately called 999, and after an initial assessment we were told we would have a long wait for an ambulance. He deteriorated quickly so I called 999 again and an ambulance was sent straight away. They were amazing trying to help Ieuan and getting us to the hospital as soon as possible. The critical care team were waiting for us, and they began work straight away.

“I felt like the whole thing was a big blur. I was just sat on a chair, watching 13 people all working their hardest and trying their best to save my precious son. The Doctor explained that Ieuan was very, very sick and believed he had Sepsis and Meningitis.

“On three occasions, Ieuan went into cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, they could not revive him on the third attempt. I remember sitting there, blaming myself. I knew about sepsis, and I knew about meningitis, but why couldn’t I stop this from happening. I tried to act as quickly as I could, but it still wasn’t enough to save our son.”

Samantha says she is very grateful for the care received from all the healthcare staff and paramedics. The ongoing support from the special bereavement nurse and the follow-on care from the charity 2 Wish Upon A Star, was exceptional, despite the Covid-19 restrictions and complications.

Asked about what advice she would give parents regarding sepsis, Samantha said, “I would tell parents to trust their gut and always get it checked out. Be proven wrong 1,000 times not right once. I always hung back before contacting the GP saying ‘ah it’s just a virus’ or ‘it’s just a tummy bug’ but now always get every little thing checked. Also, get first aid trained, myself and my husband both were and were able to revive Ieuan the first time whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive.”

The NHS stresses the importance of seeking immediate medical care when sepsis is suspected saying, “Sepsis is life threatening. It can be hard to spot. If you think you or someone has symptoms of sepsis, call 999 or go to A&E. Trust your instincts.”

To help spot the signs and symptoms of sepsis, the NHS provides a guide to what to look out for:

• a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis

• difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage), breathlessness or breathing very fast

• a weak, high-pitched cry that’s not like their normal cry

• not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities

• being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake

• acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense

• blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue

To donate to the family’s charities, The Poppy Appeal, The UK Sepsis Trust, and 2 Wish Upon A Star, please visit: GoFundMe here