‘My baby’s ‘nursery cold’ was actually pneumonia and a collapsed lung’

The Thamesmead-based infant ended up needing 2 lifesaving surgeries

Parents were left shocked after being told their son’s ‘rattly’ breath was just a viral infection picked up at nursery — only for him to end up in intensive care with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Charlie King and his partner Abbie Rogers, both 31, first noticed their six-month-old son Lennie suffering from persistent colds and chest infections.

The first-time parents, from Thamesmead, South East London, initially linked his symptoms to viruses contracted at nursery. However, following several months of “rattly breath” and difficulties breathing at night, they decided to keep him at home.

Their GP repeatedly reassured them the illness was viral and nothing to be concerned about during check-up visits, the couple said. Yet after six months of going back and forth with doctors, Lennie’s condition had deteriorated significantly, prompting them to take him straight to hospital.

It was there that medics discovered he had suffered a collapsed lung and developed pneumonia, leaving him sedated and placed on a ventilator. The youngster, who had only just celebrated his first birthday, required two life-saving surgical procedures before eventually being discharged and making a full recovery.

Now aged four, his parents are campaigning for greater awareness of the condition, with dad Charlie set to run the London Marathon in support of Evelina London Children’s Hospital, the place that saved Lennie’s life.

Charlie, a lorry mechanic, said: “Lennie always seemed to be getting unwell, and he didn’t sleep well at night. We put it down to the nursery where he was in contact with lots of other children. Doctors agreed it was viral and would clear on its own, but when we took him out of nursery he was still getting ill in the same way.”

He added: “After six months, we said enough was enough, and took him to hospital. They told us, ‘you need to prepare for things to get worse before they get better’. Getting that news, it was hard to process. We were told he was the sickest child in the hospital. But he perked up quickly after his operations – and after a year of regular checks, he was signed off completely.”

Charlie and Abbie were delighted when Lennie was born on October 22, 2021. From six months old, they started noticing a worrying pattern of what appeared to be persistent colds and chest infections affecting his health.

Initially, they attributed it to exposure to numerous bugs at nursery, with their GP providing reassurance that the symptoms would resolve themselves. However, his condition failed to improve even after they withdrew him from nursery, prompting the parents to arrange more frequent GP appointments.

Charlie recalled: “Every time his illness cleared up, it would start again. We were back and forth with the doctors for months, and after being told yet again it was just viral, we decided enough was enough and took him to Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), in November 2022. They checked his chest and told us he had a collapsed lung and pneumonia. He was struggling to breathe and it was putting a lot of pressure on his heart. It went downhill very quickly for him. He was almost gasping every breath. And he was so tiny.”

Lennie was placed on a ventilator at QEH before being moved to Evelina the next day, where he was admitted to paediatric intensive care. Doctors then discovered he also had empyema – a build-up of fluid on his lung.

Charlie said: “You can never prepare for that news. You hear the stories, but you never expect it to happen to your own family.”

Little Lennie initially underwent surgery to drain the fluid from his lungs. A second operation followed to clear the remaining infection and attach his lung to the inside of his ribcage, preventing future collapse.

Fortunately, after Lennie’s drain was taken out, he recovered rapidly and was discharged shortly afterwards. He attended regular appointments for a year, and when he was finally discharged from Evelina, the family were delighted to discover his lung function had returned to normal, with minimal risk of future complications.

Since then, Abbie welcomed a second son in August 2024 called Louie, who is now 18 months old. Charlie said: “Lennie is so good now, he has a massive personality and keeps us on our toes. He’s a great brother, he and Louie go everywhere together, they’re always side by side.”

Charlie is now preparing for the London Marathon on 26 April and is fundraising for Evelina. He added: “Training is getting there, it’s hard with the kids and work. But Lennie will be there when I cross the finish line, along with the whole family. It will be emotional – we’ll never be able to fully repay Evelina for what they did for our family.”

You can donate to Charlie’s fundraiser here.

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