Jessica in Hospital after recovering from Meningitis     January 2013

The 26th of January 2013 was a normal day. We spent a family day out in Dublin, shopping for new shoes for Jessica. After a long day we went for a nice pint and then home for dinner. It was a normal evening, Jessica not wanting to go to bed – she had a little sniffle, but that was it. After a bed time story she feel asleep at around 8pm.

A couple of hours later she woke up crying and saying that she felt sick and was hungry, so after a few minutes we gave her a grape and that seemed to calm her down. She had a little temperature, but we put it down to the sniffle and that she was crying. What kid doesn’t have a temp every so often? Then a few minutes later she showed the signs of being sick so we took her to bathroom where she was sick in the bath. So, after around 20 minutes she said that she was better and we read her a story and she fell asleep again. Around an hour later she woke again, but this time she was sick in her bed, which is very unusual for her as she has only ever vomitted a couple of times. By this stage, her temperature was a little higher (39oC) but nothing to worry about. She was a little bit irritable, but I just put it down to being sick. I said that as I was still up she could sit with me on the sofa for a while. A few hours later she was asleep on the sofa, so I decided to leave her there and I would sleep on the floor so she could get some sleep. Around 4am I woke up for some reason and looked at Jessica and thought that she looked uncomfortable, so I thought that I would lay her down flat and noticed that she had wet herself, which she has never done before. So, I took her to the bathroom to change and wash her, which is when everything in our lives changed.

I noticed that she had a rash and that all her body was warm and I just felt that it was not normal in my mind. I had a thought about Meningitis, but I wasn’t sure, so I woke Janet and asked her to phone for an Ambulance. While we were waiting, I cleaned up and got dressed then went outside to let the Ambulance in the gate. By this stage, Jessica was lethargic and her hands and feet were cool. It was hard to tell whether she was just sleepy, or actually losing consciousness.

I was outside for what seemed like an age, then when they arrived they looked at her and said that they where going to give her Penicillin in the ambulance and then take her to hospital and to get some things for her. I thought, ‘What do you take? Clothes, coat and her new shoes!’ Janet said that she would stay, as she didn’t want to wake Katie, so I carried Jessica out to the Ambulance and put her on the the bed. This was when I felt worried and scared. They asked all the normal questions about allergies and that they were going to put a line in to give her some penicillin. After a few tries, they had no luck so put two shots directly in to each buttock and we left with the lights flashing. By this stage, things were getting worse and I was asked to try and keep her awake, as she was unresponsive. So, I was shaking her leg and calling out her name. At one stage, the Paramedic leant through the hatch and spoke to the driver and that was when I knew that things were very serious as I felt the Ambulance go a lot faster. All the time he was trying to put a line in but with no luck.

On arrival at the hospital Jessica was taken straight into the rescus room and I tried to follow, but was asked to give them Jessica’s details first, then I was allowed in. There were Doctors, nurses, lines and needles and then my little Jessica in the middle of what seemed like mayhem. After a little while, I went up to Jessica’s head and she started to talk to me and things started to calm down. Then I was asked if Janet was on her way. In all the mayhem I forgot about Janet, so I was told to ring her and tell her to come in asap. They told me that they had given Jessica treatment for meningitis and that so far she was responding well. When Janet arrived, Jessica was still lying down with the oxygen mask, but she had been asking for her and was talking. I am so glad that she did not see everything that had happened before she arrived. After a while, Jessica was transferred to PICU. Then I made the phone calls to our families. We were lucky that Janet’s Mum was around, as she spent the next week looking after Katie as me and Janet where taking it in shifts to be with Jessica. After 6 days in PICU, where she was given outstanding care, she was transferred on to a ward where her little sister came to visit and she just perked up so much. After 2 nights she was given the all clear and we were told she could go home. She was amazingly fine, not even on medications. The only thing was that she wouldn’t walk because all the heel prick tests had made her feet sore.

The next week was hard for us all, trying to get back into a normal routine. That was when I decided to do the solo sponsored cycle for Crumlin Children’s Hospital to repay them for saving Jessica’s life. If through doing this cycle I raise awareness about Meningitis and save a life, then the pain of it will be well worth it. If you wish to help me in anyway you can, either by sponsoring me or just sending me an email of support while I do this, then thank you. And please pass this on, as the more people that read our story then the bigger the chance that more lives could be saved.

Dan, Janet, Jessica and Katie