IMAGINE the horror of hearing that your baby son has contracted meningitis. Then imagine discovering that news when you are 5,000 miles from home.

City goalkeeper Colin Doyle was in China on a pre-season tour with Birmingham when he got the message that his third child Liam, just seven weeks old at the time, had been rushed into a high-dependency ward in Birmingham Children's Hospital.

"We had literally just got over there," he recalled. "It was the first day of training and then I got the phone call that my lad had been rushed into hospital with suspected meningitis.

"They sent me straight back to England but the flight home was the worst thing in the world.

"You're sat on the plane for 12 hours not being able to speak to anyone and not knowing if he was still alive. It was very difficult, as you can imagine.

"The first few days were touch and go whether he'd pull through. But he stayed in hospital for a couple of weeks before he got the okay."

Doyle and his wife Becky were helped through the ordeal by Meningitis Now, a support group for families affected by the disease.

It was a comfort that both parents were hugely grateful for – and has prompted them to lend a hand to raising awareness and financial support for the charity.

Doyle said: "When it happened, Meningitis Now phoned us up and offered support. They were there to offer advice and information and it was a real help at that time.

"Once Liam had pulled through, we wanted to give something back and obviously me playing football could give them a bit of publicity.

"But my wife did the lion's share. She ended up setting up a charity called Liam's Smiles where all the money raised would go to help them."

The charity's name was thought up by eldest son Harry, who had first alerted his mum to Liam's worsening condition in the early hours of the morning before that hospital dash.

Six years on and Liam's Smiles has raised over £100,000 from various fund-raising events.

Becky was joined by a dozen others, including current Birmingham boss Gary Rowett, to run the London Marathon in April – earning £35,000 in the process. There has also been a summer ball.

"The charity is something she wanted to do and has done very well," said Doyle of his wife. "The generosity of people giving so much has been fantastic.

"It's important to remind anyone dealing with this, there is always help out there. You don't have to deal with it alone.

"It's the way with all serious diseases, you sometimes don't know where to turn. But there are people who have experienced it who want to help.

"Meningitis Now are great with the support they offer. They hold group meetings every few weeks and put on events so that people can go along to tell their stories and share their worries."

The Doyles, who have moved into the Bingley area after the keeper's summer move from Blackpool to Valley Parade, are not out of the woods with Liam.

He still suffers from seizures and has been in and out of hospital. Most seriously, two years ago he had to be treated as an emergency after slipping into a coma.

His dad said: "It's not just the disease, it carries on. You say to someone he's got meningitis and people instantly think – and I admit I used to – that he might have had limbs cut off and things like that.

"Thankfully he hasn't suffered that but he did get a bit of brain injury and that brings on the epilepsy, which has caused the problems.

"Obviously he's taking his medicine to control that but we have to keep a close eye on him at times.

"He's mentally behind the same age group he's in at school where the condition has affected him. But physically, Liam can run around just like any normal child.

"He likes football and comes to watch our games when he can. You look at him and think he's good as gold. We're obviously so happy he is still here."

* For more advice or support with meningitis, contact @MeningitisNow or @Liamssmiles05 on Twitter or via the website meningitisnow.org.