‘It’s been absolutely devastating’: Bucks Fizz star Jay Aston’s daughter Josie, 18, is hospitalised after being diagnosed with bacterial meningitis
Bucks Fizz’ star Jay Aston’s daughter has been rushed to hospital after falling critically ill with bacterial meningitis.
Josie, 18, was rushed to intensive care and put in an induced coma after her organs began to fail last month, and is still currently in a specialist kidney unit.
Her mother, 60, opened up about her daughter’s condition to The Mirror, saying: ‘It’s been absolutely devastating. We were told it was 50/50 whether she would pull through. We still don’t know when she’ll be coming home.
Devastating: Bucks Fizz’s Jay Aston has revealed that her daughter is seriously ill in hospital battling bacterial meningitis (pictured in 2019)
‘I sat by her bedside night after night willing her to make it. I couldn’t believe this was her fate, because she’s such a lovely person. She’s outgoing, kind, good-willed and full of life. It just felt so cruel. I’ve been doing a lot of praying. She’s my world – we’re ridiculously close. I just couldn’t imagine being without her.’
Jay noticed a rash on Josie’s arm in March, which she immediately recognised as meningitis as her husband Dave Colquhoun, Josie’s father, had contracted it 19 years earlier.
She rushed her to hospital, which doctors later said saved Josie’s life, and within an hour Josie’s entire body was covered in the rash.
The following day, when her lungs began to fail, she was taken to intensive care where she was put into an induced coma, given oxygen and treated with antibiotics.
![Fighter: Josie, 18, was rushed to intensive care and put in an induced coma after her organs began to fail last month, and is still currently in a specialist kidney unit (pictured in 2021)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/17/23/56724491-10727089-Fighter_Josie_18_was_rushed_to_intensive_care_and_put_in_an_indu-a-5_1650235653330.jpg)
Fighter: Josie, 18, was rushed to intensive care and put in an induced coma after her organs began to fail last month, and is still currently in a specialist kidney unit (pictured in 2021)
Bacterial meningitis usually occurs when bacteria enters the bloodstream and travels to the brain and spinal cord.
It is much more serious and rarer than viral meningitis, and one in 10 cases are fatal.
Possible side effects include brain damage, hearing loss and amputation of the affected limbs.
Jay recalled her shock at the diagnosis, when a few days earlier Josie had been ‘fit and healthy’ and excitedly preparing to go on holiday and start a new job.
![Terrifying: Her mother, 60, opened up about her daughter's condition to The Mirror, saying: 'It’s been absolutely devastating. We were told it was 50/50 whether she would pull through' (pictured in 2022)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/17/23/56724493-10727089-Terrifying_Her_mother_60_opened_up_about_her_daughter_s_conditio-a-6_1650235660068.jpg)
Terrifying: Her mother, 60, opened up about her daughter’s condition to The Mirror, saying: ‘It’s been absolutely devastating. We were told it was 50/50 whether she would pull through’ (pictured in 2022)
Josie remained in the coma for five days, with Jay sleeping beside her bed in a chair, until doctors took her out of the coma, but there was no improvement.
Jay said: ‘She didn’t come round for two days. They were the two worst days of my life. There was no response. I knew it could go either way. But I couldn’t let myself think that I might lose her.’
Jay has gone through her own health issues, undergoing seven operations – including having part of her tongue removed – to cure her mouth cancer in 2018 and battling Covid in 2021.
Despite this, she said that the fear of losing her daughter made this the ‘worst month of my life’ and insisted she would ‘swap places with her in a heartbeat.’
Jay says Josie still has a lot of recovery time to go, and wants her story told so people know the dangers of the infection, which can be spread through sneezing, coughing and kissing.
She is hopeful that Josie will be released from hospital this week, but for now is just grateful she is alive, knowing how close she came to losing her.
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