Every parent's nightmare

ONE SUNDAY night six years ago, Juliet Magnier's nine-month-old son Oisín fell ill. Twelve hours later Magnier was facing every parent's nightmare, watching helplessly as Oisín fought for his life in hospital. That Monday morning, he died.

The culprit? Meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning), caused by bacteria that had inflamed the lining of his brain and released toxins into his bloodstream.

Now Magnier is launching a new website to help make parents more aware of the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia, which can be hard to diagnose in the early stages. And she urges parents to trust their instincts if they feel something is wrong.

Her family's ordeal started on a balmy evening in September, 2002.

Nine-month-old Oisín was sick and had a temperature. At first, she had no reason to suspect anything serious. But when his temperature kept rising and falling, her internal alarm bells started to ring. "I thought, 'I don't like this, I'm taking him to the hospital just to be on the safe side'."

Meningitis was still far from her mind, because Oisín wasn't showing what she thought would be the symptoms. "What I knew of meningitis at the time was a dislike of lights, a stiff neck and the rash," she recalls. "But he didn't have those symptoms."

So when the doctor examined him and told Magnier to keep an eye on him, she brought her son back home to Kildare. "He was a little fretful, but I thought he was hungry and when he had a bottle he went back to sleep fine," she says.

But her alarm bells rang even louder when Oisín woke at 6.45am the next morning. "He had one little mark on his chest and two between his eyebrows," says Magnier. "I knew there and then what it was."

Her partner Peter stayed at home with the couple's older son, while Magnier rushed Oisín back to hospital. "On the way I heard the high-pitched moan they talk about, and to this day that sound haunts me," she says.

"I remember going through the door of the hospital and saying that it was meningitis. The team took over, and within minutes had set up drips and monitors and he was taken to intensive care."

The doctors confirmed Oisín had an infection of meningococcal group B bacteria. They put him on massive doses of antibiotics and gave him saline and adrenaline, recalls Magnier.

Peter arrived and they waited anxiously by Oisín's bed, holding his hands. The staff warned them that things were not looking good, and to prepare themselves for the worst, says Magnier. "It was like walking in a fog - you know what's happening but you are praying that in a moment the fog is going to lift and everything will be okay."

The antibiotics weren't working. "You could see the septiceamia take hold. The rash was everywhere but his feet and hands," she says. "Then he seemed to rally and for a couple of seconds we thought it was going to be all right, but it was too much. His heart muscles collapsed, and that was it."

The following week passed in a daze for Oisín's parents. "It was surreal," says Magnier tearfully, as she recalls how the family said their goodbyes before putting him in the small, white coffin the hospital gave them. They went to Derry to bury him near Peter's family.

In the aftermath, she found out everything she could about meningitis and septicaemia. She learned that the bacteria can attack particularly if a person's immune system is already down. "Oisín had a cold when he died, and we reckon that's probably why it took hold so quickly," she says.

She also learned about the wide range of symptoms. "Everyone is looking for the rash," she says. "But there doesn't have to be a rash."

And she learned that, while the vaccination programmes help protect against the condition, it doesn't target all causes. "You can't be complacent, your children are not covered for all types of meningitis."

This week, Magnier is launching a website in Oisín's memory, to help make parents more aware of symptoms and how to respond if they are concerned. "As parents we have got a God-given instinct when there's something wrong with our children," she says. "Trust that instinct."

See www.babyOisin.org

Meningitis: the symptoms

The symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia vary, and can arise in any order and combination. Some may not appear at all. If you have any concerns, seek medical assistance from a GP or hospital. Say you suspect it's meningitis, and get a second opinion if you are still worried.

Not all symptoms may be present, but they include:

• Fever, cold hands and feet
• Being drowsy or floppy and listless
• Stiff neck or head retracted in babies
• Blotchy skin
• Dislike of lights, irritability
• Vomiting
• Rapid breathing or grunting in babies
• High-pitched cry in babies
• Spots or a rash that does not fade when pressed, caused by blood leaking from small veins under the skin. Do not wait for a rash to appear if you suspect meningitis

For more information, visit  www.meningitis-trust.org(currently linked to the UK site) or call the Meningitis Trust's 24-hour nurse-led helpline at 1800 523 196

Causes and vaccinations

This September, the HSE is due to introduce a new vaccine against meningitis for children under two. Babies born this week will be the first to qualify. The new vaccine joins the list of other anti-meningitis jabs offered here, namely Hib and meningitis-C.

But experts warn that parents can't assume their child is completely protected. Of the roughly 300 diagnosed cases of bacterial meningitis each year in Ireland, around 85 per cent are caused by meningococcal group B bacteria, against which we have no routine vaccination, says Carole Nealon, general manager of the Meningitis Trust in Ireland.

"Bacterial meningitis can be life- threatening and needs urgent medical attention. The earlier that attention can be sought, the better the outcome in general," she says.

Viruses can also cause meningitis, and while it can sometimes result in deafness, viral meningitis is rarely life-threatening, according to Nealon. However, in the early stages it is hard to tell whether the infection is bacterial or viral, so you should always seek medical help, she adds.