“OTHER people think it’s great if their baby sleeps through the night. But if Liam ever slept through, I thought he’d left us.”

Life changed for Becky Doyle the day her seven-week-old son, Liam, was rushed to hospital with meningitis.

It was around 5am and Liam had been crying all night. Becky's husband - Bradford City goalkeeper Colin Doyle - was away in China on a pre-season training with his then team, Birmingham City.

Becky asked Liam’s older brother, Harry, to sit with him while she went to get a nappy. “I heard Harry call out and my first thought was, ‘Be quiet or you’ll wake your sister’. I rushed back and Liam was shaking, having a seizure. His skin was grey, his body was starting to shut down.”

Becky drove Liam to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and by the time they arrived he was purple. “He was rushed straight to resuscitation and they stabilised him,” says Becky.

Liam had meningitis and his condition was critical. Colin flew home to join Becky at their son’s bedside, and he remained in hospital for two weeks. A year later Liam was diagnosed with epilepsy, and was having several fits a day. In 2012 he was treated again for viral meningitis and was diagnosed with ataxia, which affects co-ordination, balance and speech. Liam suffered another seizure in 2014 and was treated for pneumococcal septicaemia. In the following months, he suffered lengthy fits and some days couldn’t get out of bed.

Now six, he still suffers seizures and two years ago had emergency treatment after slipping into a coma.

The ordeal took its toll on Becky. “I had some dark times when Liam was ill,” she says. “Initially they told me he may not survive. After that I kept thinking: ‘Today’s the day it happens’. One minute you’re dreaming of things like school and college for your child, then suddenly your world’s turned upside-down. I thought: ‘Is this is how my life is going to be - always having nightmares?’”

Becky found solace in running. “I turned to running initially to lose weight I’d put on while staying in the hospital with Liam,” she says. “It helped my depression; I’d set off with the world on my shoulders then put the world to rights, in my head, in an hour’s run and come back and be a mum.”

Before long, Becky was taking part in charity runs, and last year she ran the London Marathon. “When I did my first half-marathon, a man running inside a fridge-freezer passed me three times, but I kept going,” smiles Becky. “Whenever I ran I thought of the times when Liam was in hospital, fighting for his life. He never gave up. I ran until I cried, until the pain in my heart stopped, then one day I realised I was running because I enjoyed it. I could smile again.

“Running helped my mental health fitness. I love it, and now I run every day - although it took a while to get used to the Bradford hills! I enjoy meeting people on my daily runs.”

When Becky and her family came to live in the district, after Colin’s move to Bradford City last summer, she wanted to support a charity helping local people. “I did some research and discovered that Bradford has the highest infancy death rate in the UK. It really shocked me,” she says.

Becky got involved with Best Beginnings, supporting young parents. The charity was represented at a World Mental Health Day event held last autumn by the Royal Foundation - set up by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry - and mental health charity Heads Together. Becky was invited to the event in London, attended by the three Royals.

“They talked about how a baby born in Bradford is four times more likely to die in infancy than one born in Bath. Poorer families have poorer outcomes, but it doesn’t have to be like that,” says Becky. “I can’t fix it, but I can raise awareness, and funds. I’m passionate about supporting Best Beginnings because it supports parents through all kinds of issues, including having a sick child. I know how vital that help can be.”

Launched in 2006, Best Beginnings engages with the government, local authorities and other agencies on parenting issues, and develops digital tools such as the Baby Buddy app, guiding parents-to-be and new parents through pregnancy and the first six months of their child’s life.

As well as supporting Best Beginnings, Becky and Colin fundraise for Meningitis Now, a support group for families which helped them when Liam was first ill. To raise funds, they set up a charity, Liam’s Smiles. The name was the idea of Harry, now 14. “I was struggling one day and Harry came downstairs with a video he’d made of Liam. He said: “He still smiles, Mum’. That meant the world to me,” says Becky. “Harry and our daughter, Ava, have been amazing in coping with it all. Harry’s going to the Houses of Parliament on Mother’s Day to talk to MPs about the meningitis vaccine.”

Liam's Smiles has raised more than £100,000 so far. Events have included a Bradford City appeal which raised £2,600 in just two days. Becky is running the Birmingham Marathon in October, and is organising a family fun day at East Morton Village Hall on May 7.

“Because of what Liam's been through, it took a while to get him into school," adds Becky. "When he was stuck at home he told me he just wanted a friend. Now he’s at school and he loves it.

“I just want him to be happy - and to keep smiling.”

* Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord. It is usually bacterial or viral. Meningitis can strike quickly and kill within hours. Babies and young children are particularly vulnerable, as their immune system isn’t fully developed. While there are several vaccines for babies and young children, to help protect against some types of meningitis, there is no vaccine for all strains.

Because babies and toddlers can't say how they are feeling, vital signs can be missed. Meningitis UK urges parents to be vigilant, trust their instincts and carry out the glass test: Press the side of a glass against the skin. 'Pin prick' spots or a rash that doesn’t fade under pressure is a medical emergency.

Don't wait for a rash. If someone is ill and getting worse, get medical help immediately. Other symptoms include fever with cold hands and feet, joint or muscle pain, rapid breathing, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

* Visit bestbeginnings.org.uk, liamssmiles.co.uk, meningitisnow.org and mvirginmoneygiving.com/HeadsTogetherForBestBeginnings-TeamSmiles