Faces of Meningitis - Freya's Story

"This is the tragic story of how my healthy, beautiful 19 month old daughter, Freya, was taken from us in 11 days by pneumococcal meningitis.

"On 5 April 2005, Freya didn't seem herself. She had a high temperature and was a bit grizzly. At the time we thought she was just coming down with a cold but later that night she began to vomit, which continued the next day. We took her to the GP who gave her paracetemol to bring her temperature down. However, Freya didn't improve and became increasingly drowsy, so we took her to hospital.

"The consultant who saw us was sure Freya had a urine infection, but lunchtime the next day she had a fit. Now we were scared and knew something was seriously wrong, but the word meningitis didn't even enter our heads, as she didn't have a rash.

"Freya deteriorated rapidly from that point. That evening, pneumococcal meningitis was confirmed. We were transferred to the local Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. By this point, Freya was also suffering from kidney failure for which she needed dialysis.

"We were told Freya could die, be left brain damaged or pull through with no ill effects. But as the days passed she didn't wake up and continued to suffer seizures. A CT scan showed wide spread brain damage, so our hopes of having Freya back the way she was disappeared.

"Our once healthy daughter was fading in front of our eyes. The consultants told us the kindest thing to do for Freya was to let her die in peace. They transferred us to a children's hospice where they removed the ventilator and let us say goodbye. She died in her daddy's arms 7 hours later.

"Since she died we have been reading a lot about this type of meningitis. Pneumococcal meningitis is the second most common form of the disease in the UK. But as a doctor explained to us, pneumococcal meningitis has a higher rate of death and brain damage than the most common form - meningococcal meningitis.

"This devastating disease has taken the most precious thing in our lives away from us. And to now know there was a vaccine that might have prevented this is a real kick in the teeth.

"Two months after Freya died, I gave birth to our second child - Libby Hope. She has been given the pneumococcal vacination. I can't risk losing another child to this deadly disease."

Faces of Meningitis - Case Study

Freya's Story