Meningitis in your words

Daisy Mitchell's story

Location: England
Categories: Bacterial meningitis
Age: Baby 0-1
Relationship: Parent
Outcome: Recovery with after effects
After effects: Learning difficulties

My little girl was born on Christmas day and that night she wouldn't feed and kept being sick all of the following day. They put a feeding tube in to get her to eat but still she was sick.

That day I had to go and have a shower so a midwife watched her for me. She noticed she was jaundiced so they took her to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) as they could see something wasn't right.

"She was in an incubator and had tubes everywhere. It was heartbreaking."

They did tests and a brain scan and started treating with antibiotics before the tests even came back but at this point she had a high pitched scream and high temperature.

The tests came back positive for infection in the meninges. When they told us I immediately broke down and assumed the worst was going to happen.

She stayed in hospital for 3 weeks a couple of times it wasn't looking good.

She's now 2 with some stomach problems and possibly learning difficulties but that's all we know or can see right now. And we're so happy to have our little girl.

Louise Searle
March 2015