“Aubrey was a normal, happy six-month-old. She had been poorly for a few days and was unable to keep her milk down - after every feed she was sick.
“We assumed it was a tummy bug as she was fine in herself and her temperature was normal. On the evening of 18 January she was crying and seemed out of sorts. She had a temperature and was still being sick.
“She cried every time she was put down and the light seemed to upset her but she had no rash at all during any point of her illness. On the morning of the 19th her temperature had risen to 42 degrees. We took her straight to our GP as she was pale and was hardly opening her eyes.
“We were sent straight to UHND hospital, where the doctors reacted straight away. They put her on the highest dose of antibiotics to cover meningitis, although at this point it was not known to be that.
Body gone into shut down
“She was not well enough on the first day for a lumbar puncture to confirm the meningitis and confirm she was on the correct treatment. She received IV so she didn't dehydrate and had a feeding tube.
“Her body had basically gone into shut down and when they were injecting her and prodding her she couldn't even open her eyes or cry. On the second day her temperature was down so they took her for her lumbar puncture and pneumococcal meningitis was confirmed.
“The staff at the hospital spoke to us about the effects including possible fatality, brain damage and deafness. She remained on antibiotics and gradually her body started to fight off the infection. She slowly began to smile and her colour started to return.
Development not affected
“She stayed in hospital for nine days. On discharge she received a hearing test and was fine. She has since seen a specialist who discharged her as her development has not been effected.
“Aubrey never had the rash that is associated with meningitis so it was hard for me to comprehend that she had contracted it. People should be more aware that there are a lot of other symptoms to look out for as well as the rash.
“Aubrey is now a completely normal two-year-old. She is so brave and we are so proud and fortunate to have her. We know how different our story could have been and that others are not as fortunate as we have been.”
