‘There is hope… you can survive meningitis’

"There is hope out there. You hear ‘meningitis’ and you think: dead. But you can survive it."

Marie and Darragh Gooney from Galway welcomed baby Ollie into their world in 2008. Little did they realise they would have him treated for meningitis three times within the first five months of his life.

Now, on Meningitis Awareness Week, Marie says they want to let other parents know support is available to help families deal with the aftermath of the illness.

Ollie was three-months-old when, during a visit to Marie’s native Tipperary, he was first struck with e.coli meningitis and septicaemia.

“We put him to bed the night before; he was smiling and happy. There was nothing to indicate that there was anything wrong,” Marie said.

“The next morning he was restless and pale, his lips had gone a purple-blue and there was some froth at his mouth. His temperature was massive, it went over 40C. We went to the GP who sent us on to Clonmel (hospital) where they saved his life.”

Marie later discovered that back in Galway, over the same weekend, two children were admitted to hospital with meningitis. They did not survive.

Two more bouts of meningitis followed, and it was found Ollie had a kidney disease that was causing the illness to return.

An operation in Crumlin Children’s Hospital helped tackle the kidney disease, and the meningitis has not returned. The illness, however, left a lasting impact on Ollie, now 6.

His developmental skills are slower as a result. Ollie has trouble with his memory and basic everyday things like dressing himself took longer to learn.

“What a child can do instinctively, Ollie has to be taught,” Marie explained.

“We got by until he started school, then we had a big problem. He was very stressed, very unhappy. We thought that it was so hard for him to go through so much only to survive to be miserable.”

In January, however, they discovered ACT for Meningitis, a Galway-based charity. Through the charity, Ollie started play therapy and went through a transformative change.

“It has lifted a weight off his shoulders. We can’t fix his ongoing problems but he is laughing and happy. There is a massive difference,” Marie said.

“I’m only sorry it took us so long to get onto them.”

url=http://www.actformeningitis.ie]actformeningitis.ie[/url]

Check list

- Signs and symptoms of meningitis in babies include: being unusually sleepy; very irritable or not wanting to be picked up; high temperature; limp and floppy or stiff and jerky movements; pale in colour or turning blue; breathing unusually fast; cold hands and feet.

- Signs and symptoms of meningitis in children and adults include: severe headache; vomiting; high fever; dislike of bright lights.

- If a rash is present, press a glass against it. If it does not fade, there is a high chance of mening-ococcal septicaemia.

- A meningitis B vaccine is available but is not free of charge. A free meningitis C vaccine is part of the immunisation schedule and a booster has been added to the immunisation schedule commencing January 2015.