My child had Bacterial Meningitis and survived - AMA

[Mayonaiseislife]

Almost 1 year ago my 2 year old was rushed to hospital with suspected, later confirmed bacterial meningitis.

So so pleased your child is okay! May I ask what the symptoms were? And did they mirror any other less serious illness?

How are they doing and how are you doing?

She became unwell...but it felt different to "viral" type illnesses.

She wouldn't walk
Was very blank, expressionless and lethargic ( this was a main symptom)
Stopped eating and drinking
Moaned alot, seemed in pain but couldn't say where.
Would sleep in our bed through the night and would wake up very very very thirsty once a night
Temp that couldnt be controlled and would shoot right up 1 hour after medicine.

We went to GP once, then Out of hours then again the GP where we were told to get her to hospital.

Shes amazing, perfect and an absolute joy, my 3rd and my baby.

I am doing ok, unless one of the kids get unwell, then im a nervous wreck and find it difficult to assess whether its a common cold or certain death is upon them.

Oh bless her! Thank you for answering my question! If I'm allowed one more... what did recovery look like? and is there any lasting effects? thank you

So glad all is okay ❤️ thank you for inviting questions. Can I ask if/how you have managed to process it? My baby had a febrile convulsion the other day and I thought she was dead, I can’t get it out of my head even though she’s absolutely fine and I feel like I’m overly anxious now whenever she does something out of the ordinary (which is all the bloody time as they change almost overnight sometimes!)

Of course!!

We saw no change in her until day 4 of the IV antibiotics which i was warned about so expected this.

Day 4 was like a different child really, she started drinking, perked up alot although still very weak and sleepy.

We eventually were allowed home day 6 and became an out paitent for a further 4 days which meant us going into the hospital for IV antibiotics and blood tests until her infection markers were all the way down.

Sorry meant to add, there doesnt appear to be any lasting effects.

The main issue was an infection in the bone of her skull behind the ear which meant her ear poured like a tap of fluid.

They were concerned about hearing loss but thats not been the case, she had absolutely no lasting effects that we can tell so far and is a perfectly healthy almost 3 year old 😍

Oh, my second DD had a febrile convulsion when she was 3, ambulance called and like you I literally thought she had died so I also share your pain, if it helps she never had it again.

I am very health anxious with the kids, when they get ill i tend to stay up all night googling sepsis and meningitis even though ive been through it and know the signs i go to worse case scenario. My husband helps talk me down, My GPs are also very good and this is very embarrassing to admit but 3 months after the meningitis she got a cold and i rushed her to A&E with my other 2 kids in tow ( husband was away on work) and was very panicked.
The hospital were lovely to me and treated me with kindness even though now i realize i was completely time wasting.

I'm so glad your child is ok now... it must have been a complete nightmare for you!

Can I ask if you child was vaccinated? I wonder if you can still get it after being vaccinated.

Thank you x

Yes all my children are fully vaccinated as per the NHS vaccinations apart from the covid vaccine as they are too young.

So pleased to hear she's doing OK.

What was her temperature and when it wasn't being controlled by meds did it stay the same or go higher?

I'm always so anxious when my little boy gets poorly and always spend the night googling symptoms.

At what point did the medical professionals decide it's Men-B? Did they do any tests or was it judgement?

If you could've done anything different - what would that be?

We were giving calpol and ibuprofen but it was maybe going from 39 to 38 then back up again.

And was way higher at night if we had slept for 4 hours then woke up to her shaking with the temp.

First Gp app they said viral.

2nd app was a Sunday, out of hours, that GP said maybe an ear infection and gave antibiotics I pushed him, as im a mum of 3, dealt with lots of illnesses felt like this was different. he only gave me antibiotics as it was a bank holiday Monday the next day and said it would " calm my nerves"

3rd app, i phoned my GP for opening and said " shes going to die in my bed tonight"
I made my husband take her as i didn't want them to think i was an anxious mum. GP listened to him, and told him to drive to the hospital now.

At this time it was a one parent rule.

When he arrived he was triaged with her immediately, the nurse told him to follow her now and they walked quickly into the A & E ward, antibiotics were given through a large infection, they were then moved to a room inside the a&e ward.
A team of doctors were with her in the room, my husband was told to call me, i arrived about 30 mins later to be told she was going for a lumber puncture.

That lumber puncture failed and was very traumatic, she was sedated and they tried again which also failed and it took the 3rd time to be successful.

The consultant came and spoke to us, he said they suspected Bacterial meningitis and thats the treatment plan, i dont remember much of that conversation but i remember saying " she doesn't have a rash" and he said to me " if she had a rash this would be an uphill battle, currently im confident she will walk out of here and have a future"

My main regret.... why the fuck didn't i take her to A & E on Sunday, i honestly think about that alot, i have no answer.

Meant to say the 3rd GP app was done on the Tuesday which was also when she was admitted.

Glad she was okay @Mayonaiseislife . I had meningitis when I was a baby. My mum’s fast response to get me to a hospital very quickly plus an emergency doctor who recognised the symptoms saved my life. There had been a few cases in the local region so my mum was extra aware to watch for signs of it.

I spent a while on multiple IV drips fighting the infection. I think I spent about 4 weeks in hospital in total. No lasting effects except for a scar on each ankle where they cut me open to insert emergency drips.