We’re so grateful for the time we had with Caden

Almost 1,000 youngsters took part in a huge football festival in memory of Caden Beggan yesterday.

It’s estimated the tournament, in Motherwell, raised £10,000 for Caden’s memorial fund.

It’s nearly a year since the youngster died after a month-long battle against meningitis.

The Sunday Post followed every stage of his brave struggle.

Thousands answered parents David and Angela’s plea to pray for a miracle. You shared the family’s anguish when we revealed young Caden faced multiple amputations as the infection ravaged his body.

You wept as hope faded, tragedy unfolded and dinosaur-mad Caden died on November 20.

Last week, we spoke to dad David about how the family has coped.

It’s been a year of firsts for David Beggan and his young family none of them welcome.

There was the first morning they woke without Caden, the mischievous six-year-old who brought such joy and light into their lives.

There was the first family meal, the first trip to the park and the first Christmas that David, Angela and sons Declan, 13, and Ethan, four, spent without their beloved son and brother.

In coming weeks lies a new sequence of dreaded anniversaries what would have been Caden’s seventh birthday, then the day he fell ill and, of course, the day he died.

David, 45, said: “You can prepare for the big dates you know they’re coming.

“We communicate well as a family we can sit down and discuss it, talk about our feelings. It makes occasions like Christmas, or Caden’s birthday that bit easier if it could ever be described as ‘easy’.

“The little things are far worse the things that get you by surprise when your guard’s down.

“You’ll get out of bed in the morning and not be thinking anything when you walk past his photo you’ll see his wee face, so happy, innocent and no idea what lies ahead, and it hits you like a blow.

“There’s an ache in your chest, you feel it in your throat and it’s all so raw again.”

David and Angela, 39, from Motherwell, found Caden being sick on the bathroom floor at 7am on October 23 last year.

Within hours he faced a grave battle for life. Medics said it was incredible he’d even survived the dash to hospital.

He was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia, a blood poisoning from the bacteria that causes meningitis.

David said: “It started as just a normal day we didn’t know our lives were about to change forever.

“A few hours and everything was different. It’s hard to get your head around how quickly things can change.”

The nation took young Caden to its heart when The Sunday Post told of his plight. The family were inundated with messages of love and support, while 50,000 followed daily Facebook updates on Caden’s condition posted by his parents.

But there would be no happy ending.

First came the devastating news surgeons were forced to amputate the child’s lower legs, then part of his left arm. Later fingers on his right hand were also cut away.

Still he clung to life but medics warned the disease wasn’t finished.

David recalls: “Caden was fading he was slowly dying. He’d been through so much but there came a point when it was obvious the disease just couldn’t be stopped.”

Caden died in his parents’ arms.

The family take great strength from the messages of support they continue to receive from around the world.

A memorial fund has been established in Caden’s name at Yorkhill Children’s Hospital to raise funds for a hi-tech life support machine the kind used by the boy during his illness.

Thousands more have been donated to meningitis charities in his honour.

David, a designer, said: “I know there’s so much for which we should be grateful although I choke when I use the word sometimes.

“We are grateful for the time we got with Caden, short as it was. We’re grateful for the impact he had he united so many people in what he went through.

“We’re grateful that his memory is kept alive, that so much money has been raised in his name it might mean other families don’t have to suffer as we did.

“And we’re grateful for all he taught us as a family we know what matters, how important it is to cherish what you have and to be thankful.”

Of course Caden will never be forgotten but David is amazed by youngest son Ethan’s memories in particular.

David said: “He talks about Caden all the time. It’s remarkable he’s just four now but his memories are so detailed.

“He comes away with things you’d never imagine he’d remember, the games they played, the fun they had.

“Declan’s a bit quieter. It’s harder for him, I think, because he remembers exactly what Caden went through.”

David’s a devout Christian. Understandably, his son’s death challenged his beliefs. The ordeal, however, has left his faith stronger than ever.

He said: “It’s only natural you ask why. Why Caden? Why us?

“How could God let this happen?

“But you realise you are just a tiny part of an immense system. People go through terrible things every day and always have done. That’s life, isn’t it?

“We just have to have faith, endure and carry on.

“As a family we’re strong we’ll get through this together.”