As with every story we will start at the very beginning...
Finding out I was pregnant was a complete shock. I had been told that I would never be able to have children, so from the moment we found out, we knew she was our little miracle. I did everything I possibly could have done to ensure that she was cared for during the pregnancy and also that everything would be in place and perfect for when she finally arrived. I spent the following months on Cloud 9 and couldn't wait to meet her.
Emma was finally born on the 22nd November 2003. She was a healthy, full-term baby weighing exactly 7lbs. From the moment she was born she was an angel. She reached all her developmental milestones either on time or early and was doing brilliantly. She was learning to use both Spanish and English and was a very happy little girl who loved her cuddles and kisses and enjoyed dancing and doing all the things little babies love doing (anyone who is a parent will understand what I mean!)
In October 2004 we decided to try her at a Day Nursery so that she could have the opportunity to socialise with other children and get used to being away from mummy. She really enjoyed the time she spent there and was thriving.
On Thursday 24th February 2005 when I went to collect her I bumped into another parent and her son. From the moment I laid eyes on the little boy I was worried. He looked absolutely dreadful. I stopped his mother and asked if he was alright and she told me that he had a nasty chest infection and was on antibiotics. Being a teacher, I was fully aware that a child should not be in school with other children if he or she a) has an infection and b) is on antibiotics, so I was quite alarmed. I was also concerned because ever since starting at Nursery Emma had managed to pick up all the coughs and colds going around and I knew she would end up catching this infection too. I was not impressed.
Emma was fine for the following few days but did develop a 'chesty' cough and did seem to be a little run down. On Monday 28th February 2005 it snowed. Emma had never seen the snow so I decided to let her go outside in it. She was wrapped up really warm and toddled off onto the patio. She was quite fascinated and although she was only out there for about 10 minutes she did enjoy it.
That evening I was really excited and couldn't wait for daddy to come home to show him what Emma was doing - she had started to anticipate being chased and caught and would run away from you screeching loudly in excitement. However, by the time daddy arrived at 6pm she seemed a little grizzly and wasn't up to showing him how much fun she had been having a couple of hours earlier. She had her usual bath at 7pm but really wasn't very happy. She looked as though she was teething and seemed quite irritable. We read her a story and put her to bed but by 8pm she was still not asleep and seemed really grumpy, so we gave her some Calpol. By 9pm she seemed worse and was really very irritable and unhappy. We were not sure whether we could give her Ibuprofen as well as the Paracetamol so we called the hospital for advice. By this time she had a high-pitch scream and was very unsettled but did calm down when held. We gave her the Ibuprofen and put her back to bed but she still seemed restless. At 12am that night she started projectile vomiting and continued to do so until 4.30am. We were obviously very concerned, but then Emma did tend to vomit a bit anyway so we were hoping it was a passing tummy bug.
The following morning, I got Emma up for breakfast but she kept saying 'Nah' to me and shaking her head. She refused all food but did drink some water and milk. No sooner had she taken this and she started projectile vomiting again. It went everywhere. She looked petrified and by this time, I too was very very concerned. I didn't know what was wrong with her. She seemed really sleepy and lethargic so I called the doctor who prescribed some Diarolyte for her and asked that I ring back should she not improve. By 11am Emma's arm was jerking and her eyes seemed to be rolling. Her head was moving involuntarily from side to side and she appeared to be in a lot of pain when touched, and especially when picked up. I called the doctors again but our usual GP was unavailable so I asked for a home visit as I felt Emma was in no state to be taken outdoors. The on-call doctor refused to make a home visit but said that he could squeeze her in at 1pm if I took her to the surgery. It was still snowing outside and very cold. Emma was floppy and her arm was still jerking, her eyes were rolling as before and she was still in a lot of pain.
I took her to the surgery for 1pm and saw the on-call doctor hurry in from outside. He rushed us into a consultation room and didn't even turn the lights on. He asked whether she had a temperature and I told him I didn't think so. He tried looking into her ears but she was moaning and wriggling and would not cooperate so he wasn't really able to see much. Nonetheless he diagnosed her with an ear infection and prescribed her with some antibiotics, telling me that she would be "up and running around again by tomorrow lunchtime". I took Emma back home and gave her lots of cuddles. She refused all food and drink and was very floppy and lethargic, moaning lots, particularly when moved or handled. Although every bone in our bodies was telling us that she was very sick, we kept reassuring ourselves that a doctor had seen her and that an ear infection might cause a child to be this unwell. We didn't want to be the neurotic parents that wasted hospital time and so sat back and prayed she would improve. She was put to bed at 9pm.
When I went into her on Wednesday 2nd March 2005 she looked very strange. It was 8.30am and when I looked at her I noticed that her arms were jerking and twitching and that she had a glazed look in her eyes. When I picked her up she went completely stiff and very heavy headed. Her eyes were rolling up and she was in a lot of pain. The doctor's surgery was called again and our usual GP asked to see her straight away. When he saw her he examined her thoroughly and said that he didn't agree that Emma had an ear infection and referred us to hospital.
We arrived at hospital at 1pm where she was totally floppy and sleepy. Blood tests, a lumbar puncture and a chest X-Ray were done, and she was given intravenous antibiotics. Pneumococcal Meningitis and Septicaemia were diagnosed that afternoon when Emma slipped into a coma. She was 15 months old.
The following weeks and months were a huge blur and a complete roller-coaster ride of emotions. We met so many consultants, registrars, doctors, specialists, paediatricians, neurologists, radiologists, surgeons and therapists that it felt like we were living in some sort of fictitious Hospital Drama. In reality, however, we were living the worst nightmare any parent could ever experience, only this was one that we would never wake up from and would always haunt us. I started keeping a diary of all the events that took place from the moment she slipped away from us so that I could remember everything that was being said and done around us, as suddenly, night and day became one and the same and there was no life or world other than the hospitals we were living in for 3 months. The diary can be found using the 'Diary' link above and is spilt into several sections. I still update it daily as I follow her on her rehabilitation journey.
Two and a half months after being admitted into hospital, Emma came home. She had undergone two lots of brain surgery for Hydrocephalus that resulted from the Meningitis, was profoundly deaf, blind, fed via an NG tube and immobile. All we were told was to "wait and see", and to be honest, although at the time I hated hearing those three words and felt frustrated, helpless, unsupported and alone, it was those words that kept me strong and hopeful, and in some form, positive. Emma will never ever be the little girl that I gave birth to or whom I watched grow for 15 months, but she did survive, against all the odds, and is alive and happy. She is still our little miracle.
To read the full Diary that I kept when she got meningitis and septicaemia, please click here. The diary only covers the events that occurred up to the end of the year in which she contracted the diseases. However, there is an online blog that follows on from where the Diary stops and is updated either daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, depending on the significant events that have happened within each time frame.