Father raises meningitis awareness after son’s recovery from paralysis

“Daddy, I’m so proud of you.” Those were the words local father Karl Santos heard from his son Charlie, five, as he crossed the finish line at the London Marathon on Sunday.  

Mr Santos had just run the 42.2km to raise funds and awareness for the Meningitis Research Foundation in honour of Charlie who at the age of two was left paralysed by a rare strain of viral meningitis. 

“Charlie was just two when he started to feel unwell, vomiting continuously, with a high temperature. We suspected a bug or food poisoning. This continued throughout two days and then he began to lose the ability to use his legs and hold his head up,” said Mr Santos. 

“He had a seizure and was paralysed from the neck down and had stopped speaking.” 

Doctors carried out extensive tests, including lumbar punctures and MRI scans of his brain in Spain, but were initially unable to determine the exact cause of his illness. 

“During this period, he was rapidly deteriorating,” said Mr Santos. 

“A helicopter ambulance was put on standby to take Charlie to a specialist children’s hospital in the UK. It was a very quick decline in health.” 

“Things started to get better once medication started but we went through a very, very tough time where it was almost impossible to see any possible positive outcome.” 

“Thankfully, we took hope from every little wiggle of a toe to an eventual smile after weeks of no response,” he added.  

Charlie’s recovery was slow but steady, and he had to learn again how to move, talk properly and even play. 

Mr Santos acknowledged that his family were very lucky with the outcome for Charlie but that not everyone in the same situation is.  

While he thanks everyone that supported the whole family during that time he singled out the staff of the Rainbow Ward in St Bernard’s Hospital who “were incredible, we will never forget them,” he said. 

The medical teams that looked after Charlie still do not know what caused his illness. He had his vaccines when he was younger, including the meningitis vaccine.  

“There was an investigation and research into his type of meningitis which was being researched by the Evelina hospital in London,” said Mr Santos.  

Mr Santos said he trained extensively for the marathon, including early morning and late-night runs, and at the start line felt prepared both physically and mentally. 

“5:30am runs. Late night runs. Weekend runs. Runs when on holiday, you name it. I was more than ready from a fitness and mental perspective. I have never been so determined in my life,” he said. 

However, he encountered difficulties during the race after stepping on another runner’s discarded water bottle at the 17km marker, which triggered severe cramping in his calf and hamstring. 

“This continued to worsen and by km 24 I was cramping all over in both legs. It didn’t stop me. But I was gutted as I could no longer run at my normal pace, nor achieve my target finish time,” he said.  

He noted he was taken aback by the crowd and fellow runners who stopped to support him when he was trying to stretch off the cramps. Members of the public gave him water, sweets, fruit and energy gels.  

But, “above all, they gave me motivation and pushed me to get back to the road and keep going.” 

“The noise and support is something I will never forget. Deafening at times, I found myself applauding the crowd at times. It was out of this world,” he said. 

“Even Gordon Ramsey gave me a high five and shouted, ‘you’ve got this Karl’. Surreal.” 

Surreal as that celebrity moment, it was not the most important thing he heard that day. Those words came from Charlie himself. 

“The first words he told me when I saw him after were: ‘Daddy, I’m so proud of you’.” 

“If I wasn’t so exhausted, I would have cried more than I already had in the build up, and on the course when I saw him and my family.” 

Charlie’s big sister Lucia was also at the finish line.  

“She also said the same thing when she saw me after the race. ‘Daddy, I’m so proud of you’.” 

Looking ahead, he hopes to return to the London Marathon to achieve his original goal of completing the race in under four hours, while continuing to raise funds and awareness for the cause. 

“I couldn’t do this [under four hours] given the cramps but I’m so proud of myself for what I have achieved both with the race and raising so much money and awareness for such a great cause which is so close to my heart,” he said. 

“This has led me to meet some people along the way who I am very grateful for.”  

“I have been overwhelmed by people who have supported me so generously on this journey. I am amazing at how much people care and are willing to support you. This is both regarding financial and emotional support,” he added.  

His tips for future runners of this or other marathons is to train properly. Respect the course and the demands of the marathon.  

Moving forward his top tip, even for himself is to make sure he is in the middle of the road during and just after the water stations to avoid other runners throwing their bottles in your path.  

But above all, “if the drive and determination is there, the crowd and fellow runners will support you the entire way.” 

At present Mr Santos has raised over £8,200 for Meningitis Research Foundation, to support him reaching a goal of £10,000 donate via https://www.justgiving.com/page/karlsantoslondonmarathon2026