Published: Wednesday, 19th March, 2008 12:00
'Little miracles' raise awareness of meningitis
By Hamish Hutchinson
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Michelle Scott and John McGill are relieved their daughters Miah and Nicole have fully recovered after contracting life-threatening meningitis last year.
Pic by: Jan van der Merwe
MIAH and Nicole McGill have been dubbed “little miracles” by their parents after surviving month-long battles against meningitis.
The Alloa sisters were diagnosed with bacterial Meningococcal Septiceamia B only six days apart from each other last Easter, devastating parents Michelle Scott (29) and John McGill (32).
A year on the girls remain healthy with no after-affects and Michelle hopes by telling their story she can raise awareness of the life-threatening disease and prevent any further tragedies.
Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord and septicaemia is the blood poisoning form of the disease.
It was early on a Tuesday morning last year that Miah, who was only 14 months old at the time, was struck down by the illness.
A rash developed on the youngster and after the ‘glass test’ provided unclear results Michelle took her to the doctor who referred her to Stirling Royal Infirmary.
Tests revealed Miah to be suffering from the group B strain of meningitis – presently there are no vaccines for that strain.
Michelle said, “They treated her for a week in Stirling and then exactly six days later Nicole fell ill on the Monday. She had the same strain as Miah but seemed to take it worse.
“I had her in the hospital 30 minutes after she fell ill. That was how lucky we were because I knew the symptoms.
“I couldn’t bare to think what would have happened if we didn’t know.
“Six hours later she got the rash and her condition deteriorated, her temperature was uncontrollable. She was fighting for her life at one stage.”
Five-year-old Nicole was transferred to Glasgow’s Yorkhill Hospital and spent two nights in intensive care and three weeks in a dependency unit.
“One minute they were okay the next they were ill,” Michelle went on. “It just happens like that [clicks her fingers].
“It just so happens I had one of the meningitis leaflets pinned up on my fridge, something I’d picked up somewhere along the way.
“If it wasn’t for that, to be honest, I wouldn’t have known what symptoms to look out for.”
In 2007 there were 156 cases of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia in Scotland with the majority caused by group B meningococcal bacteria.
One in ten people are carriers of meningococcal bacteria and are immune to it, passing the virus through prolonged close contact.
It cannot be caught from the air, clothes, bedding or from handling toys, cutlery or furniture.
During the girls’ time in the hospital, Michelle and her family contacted the Meningitis Research Foundation which gave them support and advice.
She said, “It was difficult during that time but we had our friends and family around who gave us a bit of moral support and advice.
“To have one child struck down by the virus is bad enough but two was horrific. Thankfully because we caught it so quickly there wasn’t a single side-affect, that’s why I call them my little miracles.
“Sometimes I think back and wonder; What if I didn’t know what it was? What if I left it another day? It breaks your heart.”
Now Michelle has become an official member of the Meningitis Research Foundation and continues to raise awareness of the disease.
More than half of all meningitis cases occur with children under five years, although the disease peaks again between the ages of 14 and 24 years old.
One in 10 people who contract meningitis and septicaemia die from the disease and one in seven are left with after-affects which include memory loss, deafness, loss of limbs or sight.
Lynsey Andrews, medical information officer for the Foundation, said, “The quicker the diagnosis and treatment, the better. Bacteria in the blood stream breaks down the vessels in the blood and that’s when the rash appears.
“The more the disease worsens the worse the prognosis is. If the sufferer is not in the hospital to be treated rapidly within hours of the it first appearing, it can kill.”
THE onset of disease is often non-specific flu-like symptoms.
Occurring from five to eight hours beforehand, the well known symptoms of stiff neck, dislike of bright lights and rash are the ‘red flag’ symptoms of limb pain, cold hands and feet and pale mottled skin.
Other symptoms
Septicaemia:
Fever and/or vomiting
Limb, joint, muscle pain (sometimes stomach pain/diarrhoea)
Cold hands and feet, and shivering
Pale or mottled skin
Breathing fast/breathless
Rash
Very sleepy/vacant/difficult to wake
Confused/delirious
Meningitis:
Fever and/or vomiting
Severe headache
Rash
Stiff neck*
Dislike of bright lights*
Very sleepy/vacant/difficult to waken
Confused/delirious
Seizures (fits) may also be seen
(*unusual in young children)
Other symptoms in babies include tense or bulging fontanelle (soft spot); refusing to feed; irritable when picked up, with a high pitched or moaning cry; a stiff body with jerky movements, or else floppy and lifeless.
Symptoms can appear in any order.
Not everyone gets all the symptoms and septicaemia can occur with or without meningitis.
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