Our Menengitis Story

I want to share this story because it is a prime example of what happens in doctors offices and hospitals everywhere. Parents generally know when there is something really wrong with their child and it is sometimes hard to get the help they need.

One day in March 2004, our daughter Gabrielle, who had turned 2 that January, didn't wake up. I thought it was strange because she hadn't been sick the day before or anything so I just kept checking on her throughout the morning. Finally at about noon I started thinking, this kid needs to wake up so I brought her downstairs and plopped her at the kitchen table in front of a bowl of soup. She could hardly stay awake and only took a few measly bites of her soup that I had to feed to her. So reluctantly I let her lay down on the couch where she instantly fell asleep again. By suppertime I was starting to get worried when she still wouldn't wake up and had a fever of 103 F. When my husband got home from work we discussed taking her to the hospital but I decided the MediCenter would be good enough so we loaded up the girls and off we went. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of the clinic I just got an overwhelming feeling that I should take her to the hospital. So we turned around and drove to the Northeast Community Health Center (that also acts as an ER) in Edmonton.

As soon as the nurse at the front desk saw Gabrielle she took us into a room where they weighed her and took her temperature which was now 104.9 F. She had been 22 lbs. to start but had dropped to 20lbs. The doctor was quite alarmed by her tiny size and began to ask me all sorts of questions. I was worried that they were going to start accusing me of neglect but Gabrielle had been sick since she was a baby and we were often blown off by doctors. So the doctor examined her right away and discovered that she had a "rip-roarin' ear infection" (his words) and again began asking me why I hadn't brought her in sooner. I assured him that she had never acted like she was in any pain and was fine the day before. I should mention that my husband had a confirmed case of strep throat a week or two before. They proceeded to start an IV (which I had been through before with her and my older daughter) and I was in complete surprise that Gabrielle didn't flinch or even wake up during the procedure. After some blood tests and a few hours of waiting the doctor decided he would send her by ambulance to the Stollery Children's Hospital for further testing--believing her to be very ill. I am very grateful for that doctor starting her on the IV antibiotics right away as that is likely what saved her from getting worse than she did.

Sooo after a long night there (although being pregnant and having only one chair in her ER room, I left my husband there and went home for the rest of the night) the doctors there discharged Gabrielle in the morning saying she had "perked up" and looked fine. Keep in mind she had been on IV fluids and antibiotics all night so it was doing her some good. I was excited to get that call and anxiously went back to the hospital to pick them up. Gabrielle seemed sick but was at least awake and talking so we went out for breakfast and then went home. By the time we got home though she was back on the couch, sleeping and not responding. She had also cried out in pain whenever I picked her up, acted like she was going to fall, and wouldn't turn her head. Around noon I got a call from the hospital saying they'd gotten her blood test results back and that she had a blood infection. The doctor assumed Gabri was doing fine and told me to keep her on the oral antibiotics. I told the doctor that Gabrielle was not fine and was completely lethargic and can't even keep any type of oral medication down so she suggested that we might want to bring her back in. After discussing with my husband, we both felt very strongly that she should go back even though we dreaded another stay in the ER.

Again, as soon as the desk nurse saw Gabri she knew I had a very sick child and took her back right away. This time there were good doctors on duty and they decided to perform a spinal tap. I was so grateful that they put Gabri under for that. A few hours later my husband and I went to the cafeteria to get some supper and when we came back Gabrielle was under quarantine. We had to keep her sliding glass door shut and wear full robes and face mask anytime we went into her room. They told us that Gabri had suspected menengits caused by the Strep A bacteria which they had heard of but never seen before. The reason it was "suspected" is because she had already been on antibiotics for almost a day so they had taken some effect. Gabri was admitted and still very sick for 2 more days. We had several visits from the CDC.

Gabrielle ended up being in the hospital, on IV antibiotics, for 10 days. Every few days her IV would come out and it was hell trying to get it back in. Her veins were so tiny. After she started feeling better we would go for walks around the hospital and people would be amazed that this tiny little person was walking and talking as clear as anything. About four days after she was admitted we noticed that Gabri's left ear was noticeably sticking out. The doctor decided to perform a CT scan to make sure the fluid left over from the infection wasn't pushing on her brain. The night before the scan, Gabri's IV fell out again and they tried about 3 different nurses and 10 times to get it back in. It was torture. To my great relief, they finally decided to leave it out until the next morning when she would be put to sleep for her CT scan and do it then. The test came back that the fluid wasn't causing problems there so that was a relief. The doctor thought about putting tubes in before sending her home but we both decided she had been through enough. They did some hearing tests with little results so she had to go back a few more times over the next year.

After bringing Gabri home it took a few weeks for her to get her balance back but other than that and not having full hearing she was fine. At age 3 she still wasn't hearing well so we had tubes put in and that solved that issue. After seeing many very sick kids at the Stollery I was so grateful to be taking my child home with me, healthy and happy. After this ordeal we got in to a great pediatrician who helped us get Gabri's weight up and also get her asthma under control. The pediatrician was curious as to why Gabrielle got this kind of menengitis and performed some more tests (such as for seliacs and cystic fibrosis) which we were very grateful came back negative. She has now, at age 8, completely caught up with her growth and we still don't know why she was always so sick as a baby/toddler.