Jago, four, was swimming underwater in the hotel’s pool when he came “whimpering and coughing”. He seemed to be recovering but after dinner he became “lethargic” and then started vomiting. After speaking to a doctor, Simpson, 37, said his son was diagnosed with food poisoning and advised to put him to bed. “Before the doctor left, I suddenly remembered Jago coughing in the pool that morning, and I remembered reading about a condition called secondary drowning, so I relayed that to the doctor. “After hearing this, his demeanor changed and he told us to go to A&E straight away.” The musician said it took them an hour to travel to the hospital, during which time Jago’s condition worsened. “He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness,” Simpson said. “They rushed him for a CT scan and X-rays and, to our absolute horror, we were told he had water in his lungs and was minutes away from pneumonia.” Image: Busted’s Charlie Simpson with his wife Anna and their two sons. Photo: @charliesimpson/Instagram Three days in the hospital Simpson said: “Jago was diagnosed with secondary drowning. “She spent the next three days in hospital and I am so grateful for the amazing care she received. It was the worst we have ever experienced. “The scariest thing of all is that if we hadn’t taken him to the hospital when we did, the outcome could have been very different.” The father-of-two revealed the incident on his Instagram page “in the hope that if it helps just one person avoid a similar situation, it will be worth it.” Secondary or dry drowning occurs when a child inhales water while swimming, which causes the vocal cords to spasm and contract. Pictured: Simpson (centre) with Busted’s James Bourne and Mattie Jay in 2004 after winning Best Pop Act Awareness It is rare but can be fatal as it can cause pneumonia. Simpson said he wanted to raise awareness, as when Jago coughed after being underwater, it was “not an unusual thing for children to experience”. She added: “He looked well and happy and was completely normal for the rest of the day.” The singer left Busted in 2005 to join the rock band Fightstar.
