DOCS THOUGHT I WAS ABUSING MY SON

Gemma Hebbron, 38, was accused during a time when her son desperately needed help

- LUCY LAING, JOHANNA BELL

My son Thomas yawned as he pushed the food around on his plate. I’d made his favourite – fish fingers, but he’d hardly touched them. ‘Can I go and watch the TV now?’ he asked hopefully. ‘Go on then,’ I sighed, clearing away his leftovers.

It was November 2018 and Thomas had turned five a couple of months before. His recent loss of appetite and energy was starting to worry me. He’d always been such a foodie, especially when it came to fish. So, it was a real concern when he started turning his nose up at his favourite dishes. He was also struggling with a nasty cough that just wouldn’t budge.

Having previously been a schoolteacher, I knew kids Thomas’ age were always sharing germs, but this felt like more than your regular bug. And the last time he’d been poorly like this, aged two, it had turned out to be sepsis – something doctors missed until it was nearly too late.

But we’d been to the doctor and this time around they’d diagnosed asthma. We were waiting for a referral to the asthma clinic, but I wasn’t convinced by the diagnosis.

‘I’m worried it’s going to end up being something terrible again,’ I told my mum Sheila, 68, the following day. As a single mum, my own mother is the first person I turn to when I have a problem.

‘Has he got any more bruising?’ she asked. I nodded. That was another thing – suddenly, bruises were popping up all over Thomas’ little body. At first I’d thought they were just the usual bumps kids got. But there were just too many.