HIS family feared they would lose him. But plucky William McCartney- Moore astounded everybody when he survived brain surgery - and came out with a completely different accent.

William, of Heworth, in York, was a healthy eight-year-old when he was struck down with meningitis in March last year.

Eight agonising weeks later, he emerged from hospital as a terrified two-year-old - scared that if he went to sleep at night he would never wake up.

But today, William has just celebrated his tenth birthday after re-learning how to do nearly everything, from holding a pencil to using cutlery.

His mother Ruth, 45, said: "He lost everything. He couldn't read or write, he couldn't recognise things, he had no recollection of places he'd been to and things he had done and he had lost all his social skills.

"He went from being such a bright, lovely, wonderful, eight-year-old who was totally confident and socially-aware, to being a two-year-old who followed me everywhere and held on to me like a toddler."

But after Ruth took a year-and-a-half off work to be with William, the brave youngster is now on the road to recovery and has even rejoined his classmates at Hempland Primary School, in York.

Ruth, a self-employed music teacher, said: "It all began with a headache. He said his head really hurt above one eye and he had a high temperature.

"There was a bug going round school, so we didn't think it was anything more than that. A few days later he had a massive seizure and we decided to go to the doctor."

Doctors at York Hospital found William had a rare strain of meningitis and a empyaema, or pus, on the brain, which was caused by a sinus infection. He was transferred to hospital in Hull.

Ruth said: "All the surgeons and doctors thought he was going to die, but I couldn't go down that route. My husband took in all of what the doctors were saying; I just heard what I wanted to hear.

"At one stage he became completely allergic to all antibiotics and turned red - you couldn't touch him because his skin hurt so much."

Eventually, doctors realised they needed to operate to remove the empyaema.

Ruth said: "Nobody thought he was going to come out. Before he went in, I cut off a lock of his hair to keep.

"But he just kept on surprising doctors. He survived the operation and the most amazing thing is that he came out of surgery with a completely different accent.

"He went in with a York accent and he came out all posh. He know longer had short a' and u' vowel sounds, they were all long. Apparently that can happen after brain surgery."


Meningitits: the warning signs

WILLIAM's family is supporting Meningitis Awareness Week, which runs until Sunday and aims to save lives.

Ruth said: "My message to parents is: if you're worried, go to the doctors straight away and don't think you're wasting their time if your child doesn't turn out to have meningitis."

Symptoms of meningitis to look out for include a severe headache, stiff neck, dislike of bright lights, fever, vomiting, drowsiness, rash and seizures.

For more information, log on to the Meningitis Research Foundation's website at www.meningitis.org or phone the free on 080 8800 3344.


The Press's Guardian Angels appeal

IF York Hospital was equipped with high-dependency facilities for children, William would not have had to spend such a long time in Hull - nearly 50 miles away from his home city.

His family is now backing our appeal to raise £300,000 to fund two high-dependency rooms on the children's ward, each with new, specialised equipment.

Ruth said: "It would have been so much easier for us if William had been in York Hospital. We were such a long way from home in Hull and it would have been such a comfort for us if we'd had more support around us."