'My baby had a stroke but doctors sent us home with a leaflet': Mother's horror as A&E doctors fail to diagnose condition that left son permanently disabled Layton Morgan, one, was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool by his parents when the left side of his body went limp A&E doctors said there could be many causes and sent him home Five days later, Mrs Morgan begged her GP for a second opinion Tests revealed Layton, who also has cystic fibrosis, had suffered a stroke He can no longer speak and has mobility problems The family are seeking legal advice and have submitted a formal complaint A devastated mother has told how doctors sent her one-year-old son home with a leaflet after failing to diagnose that he had suffered a stroke. Layton Morgan was discharged from hospital hours after his worried mother Jodie, 26, rushed him to A&E when the left side of his body went limp. His face dropped suddenly and he appeared to lose the use of his arm on September 7 this year. Layton Morgan, one, was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital by his mother, Jodie, 26, when the left side of his body went limp and half of his face started to droop Jodie and husband Shaun, 29, sped to the emergency department at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, where she explained Layton's symptoms to a doctor. But despite her telling staff her son looked "like a stroke victim," Mrs Morgan was assured a number of factors could have been responsible and was sent home with a leaflet on head injuries. After Layton continued to exhibit unusual behaviour and struggled to use his left arm, Mrs Morgan went back to hospital on September 12 and begged doctors for a second opinion. A series of tests confirmed Mrs Morgan's worst fears and doctors told her Layton had in fact suffered a stroke. The mother-of-one has since been told it was most probably triggered by a bout of chickenpox Layton suffered in July. But even though research has previously shown a link between chickenpox and an increased risk of childhood strokes, Mrs Morgan said she was never asked if her son had suffered from the illness. A&E doctors at Alder Hey Hospital sent Layton home with a leaflet about head injuries despite his mother explaining that she feared he had suffered a stroke Since the stroke Mrs Morgan said Layton can no longer speak and suffers mobility issues. He now undergoes weekly physiotherapy and speech therapy in the hope of restoring his ability to speak and move around normally. However, doctors have said Layton - who also has cystic fibrosis - may never recover fully from his ordeal. Mrs Morgan, an account manager, is now demanding to know why a doctor missed her son's symptoms - leading to a delay in him receiving vital medication. She said: "On the day it happened I noticed he was dragging his arm and it was shaking when he tried to pick things up. When Layton was still struggling to move his left arm, Mrs Morgan took him to a GP who referred him to a specialist. The specialist carried out tests which revealed he had had a stroke Then he just stopped and looked at me and the left side of his face dropped - it looked like he was smirking but not in a natural way. We sped up to Alder Hey and we saw an A&E doctor but they made us feel as though we were over reacting, like we were wasting our time. I just said to them he looked like he'd had a stroke from the way his face dropped. But they said it could be a number of factors and just gave me a leaflet on head injuries. Mr and Mrs Morgan believe the stroke could have been brought on by a bout of chickenpox that Layton suffered two months earlier Even though research has previously shown a link between chickenpox and an increased risk of childhood strokes, Mrs Morgan said she was never asked if her son had suffered from the illness We got home and we were trying to get Layton to use his arm but when we handed him a toy he would just cry with frustration, he couldn't reach out, so we knew something wasn't right. After it didn't improve we went to our GP who referred us to a specialist. The neurologist ordered lots of different tests including CT and MRI scans. Later on she asked us to go into a private room and that's when we knew it was bad news. When she told us he'd had a stroke I got a bit angry, I asked how the doctor could have missed it. Layton, who also has cystic fibrosis, is now unable to speak and is still struggling to use his left arm. He is having physiotherapy and speech therapy but doctors are not sure he will ever fully recover I do feel like if I, as a person with no medical training, could spot the symptoms of a stroke then a doctor should have investigated it. Mrs Morgan said Layton, who could form basic words before the stroke, now struggles to speak at all. She added: "Part of the right side of his brain was starved of oxygen and died, he won't ever get that back. "He's seeing a speech therapist but I've noticed he can't say little words like "papa" that he was starting to say before. He struggles to get around sometimes because of his arm. Mrs Morgan said: 'Part of the right side of his brain was starved of oxygen and died, he won't ever get that back' It's like having a newborn again in some ways, it's like starting from scratch. He is on so much medication already and now he has to take more to thin his blood because doctors don't know whether it will happen again. He still seems happy in himself but it's terrifying for me and my husband. We literally sit and watch him constantly because we're scared of it happening again. Layton now has to take blood thinning medication to prevent another stroke. He also takes medication for his cystic fibrosis. Picture shows all of the medication he has to take every day "Even the slightest little thing now we think "is he having another stroke?"" Mr and Mrs Morgan are now seeking legal advice and have submitted a formal complaint to the NHS Trust in charge of the hospital. Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust has launched an investigation into the case. A spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we have received a complaint from the family concerned. Alder Hey Hospital says it has launched an investigation to establish what happened Alder Hey takes all complaints extremely seriously and the Trust is undertaking a full investigation into the allegations made. We are continuing to liaise with the mother of this child and will formally respond to her once the investigation is completed. Alder Hey Hospital was hit by a scandal in 1999 after it emerged organs from hundreds of dead babies had been retained without permission. A stroke is a sudden disruption of the blood supply to the brain. It affects neurological functions such as movement and speech. There are two major types of stroke - ischaemic strokes which are caused by a blockage which prevents blood reaching an area of the brain, and haemorrhagic strokes which are caused by blood leaking from blood vessels into the brain. Both cause damage to brain cells. Every year about five out of every 100,000 children have a stroke. About half of these children have an underlying medical condition, such as a heart problem, which increases their risk of having a stroke. The other half are healthy before the stroke. One of the most common causes of strokes in these children is narrowing of the blood vessels in the head as a result of the chickenpox virus. This is a rare complication of chickenpox and it is not known why it happens. Symptoms include weakness down one side of the body, balance problems, slurred speech and a droop on one side of the face. Source: Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital