A scout who contracted meningitis after a jamboree in Japan was so ill he could not even shout to his father for help – and had to phone him in the room next door.
Brodie McMaster relived his ordeal as it emerged a third teenager who was on the “trip of a lifetime” to the Far East had been diagnosed with the disease.
Brodie was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness after suddenly becoming ill at his home in the Highland capital.
Medics initially feared the 17-year-old may have malaria or dengue fever.
It is suspected the Inverness Royal Academy student contracted meningitis during the World Scout Jamboree in Japan – or on the flight home.
A third case from the north Scout contingent was confirmed last night, triggering a warning to all UK scouts who attended the event to look out for symptoms of the condition.
Health Protection Scotland said all close contacts of the affected teenagers had been traced and given antibiotics.
As he recovered at home yesterday, Brodie said he had become ill very quickly.
Ironically, one of the last scout camps before the north teenagers went to Japan was about first aid, and the final badge they completed was about recognising the symptoms of meningitis.
Brodie said: “I would do the Japan trip again in a heartbeat, even though I was ill afterwards.”
Because he did not present with traditional symptoms, medics at Raigmore Hospital initially suspected he could have malaria or dengue fever.
He felt fine when he went to bed on Monday night but woke at about 1am on Tuesday with an extreme fever.
By morning, he was feeling even worse but could not shout loud enough to rouse his father Angus in the next room.
Instead, the teenager had to call him on his mobile phone.
Mr McMaster immediately contacted NHS24 and an ambulance was there within 20 minutes.
Brodie spent the next two days in isolation at Raigmore while doctors gave him antibiotics to fight the potentially fatal disease.
He said: “I got ill very quickly but I made a speedy recovery. Within 24 hours of being at my lowest, I was moving and talking and I was released on Thursday evening.”
He added: “It’s just one of those things. I probably got it in Japan but it could happen anywhere.”
He will have to return to hospital twice a day for the next week to be given antibiotics intravenously. He is also using a stick because he gets tired quickly when standing.
His mother Deannie said last night that Brodie “did not know how lucky he was”.
Mrs McMaster was on holiday in Crete with her 15-year-old daughter Briagh when the drama unfolded.
They returned to the UK on Wednesday morning and had to wear masks to visit the teenager.
Brodie is a member of the Phoenix Explorers, the older section of the scouting movement.
A second boy from the Highlands was also confirmed as having meningitis on Thursday.
About 40 children and adults from the north and north-east travelled to Japan.
Jamborees are held every four years and scouts are allowed to attend just one.
During the trip, Brodie stayed for two days with a Japanese family in Hokkaido – one of the country’s northernmost islands – and visited the capital Tokyo.
The camp itself took place at Yamaguchi, with a huge tented city created to accommodate the 36,000 children who attended from 151 countries.
Brodie said that several people had fallen ill with a vomiting bug during the event, an illness exacerbated by the humid conditions in Japan.
The children visited Hiroshima two days before the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city and flew back to Edinburgh on Saturday.