Three dads discuss how almost losing a child impacted them as fathers

What if the unthinkable happened? What if you almost lost your child? As Father’s Day approaches, Helen O’Callaghan talks to three dads who experienced just this and ask how the experience impacted on them as fathers

FORMER England rugby player Matt Dawson came close to losing younger son, Sami, 3, to meningitis in February 2016. “Sami woke feeling very feverish. He was grumpy and moody — not his usual style,” recalls the father of two.

Very soon, Sami’s hands and feet were chilled. He wasn’t eating and had nausea and diarrhoea.