DEADLY disease meningitis left Ella Gazard in a coma fighting for her life just hours after happily running around at toddlers group.
She was just 14-months-old when she was struck down by the killer brain bug in February last year but has battled back to full health thanks to expert care at both Frenchay and Bristol Children's Hospital.
Callum and Ella (together with Stephen & Claire) will be completing the second stage of the Meningitis UK Summer Stroll from Queen Square through College Green, up Park Street, through Victoria Square and over the Suspension Bridge and through Ashton Court before finishing at Ashton Gate stadium.
Stephen, 34, has just become a trustee at the Downend-based charity and says the events of last year have prompted them to take action to help beat the disease.
He said: “Ella had just learnt to walk and was running around happily at nursery at 12noon. Literally six hours later she had a fit in front of our eyes after the doctor had misdiagnosed an ear infection.
“Thankfully we live across the common from Frenchay Hospital so we got her there in minutes, which undoubtedly helped to save her life.
“We now know only too well what a horrible disease meningitis is and how it can potentially take someone's life within hours.
“We're lucky that Ella was treated so quickly but the value of a vaccine is all too evident we need to protect people from this killer bacteria and safeguard precious lives in the future.”
Stephen recalls how they will be forever indebted to the vigilance of the family's nanny Rachel Brown who had been concerned when Ella became clingy and was running a temperature after toddlers group.
Calpol wasn't helping to lower her high temperature so she took Ella to the doctors when a pinprick rash began to appear but he diagnosed her illness as an ear infection.
Stephen, who had come home, saw how off colour Ella was as Rachel walked back in from the doctors. Just then she began to fit and he rushed her to Frenchay's A&E department with his wife, Claire, who had just pulled up in the driveway.
He said: “They stripped her down and we could see the pin pricks covering her body. Having been brought up in Stroud during the 80's I spent my childhood with the 'tumbler test' being applied when any of came out in a rash .... and I knew then that she had meningitis.
“It all happened so quickly that we couldn't really take the whole situation in. The adrenaline kicked in and it didn't really hit us just how ill she was until much later.”
Ella was transferred by ambulance to Bristol Children's Hospital and, under the expert care of Professor Andrew Wolf in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, she was put into an induced coma.
She was diagnosed with meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia, caused by the group B strain of the disease for which there is no vaccine.
Stephen, who is managing director with national financial services group Lighthouse Group plc, added: “It hit us just how ill she was when we walked through the double doors into intensive care. The vision that greeted us was truly gut-wrenching and I don't think anything can ever prepare a parent for seeing their child lifeless, helpless and wired up to what felt like every machine in the hospital."
“Thankfully over the proceeding days she stabilised and was gradually taken off levels of life support as each vital organ recovered."
“After four days she was out of the woods and doctors were confident she would be ok.
“As Ella was transferred to a ward a young girl in a wheelchair came up to us to say she'd also had meningitis and we realised she had lost her legs, which is when it really hit home to us just how different the outcome might have been had we not been so close to the hospital and been able to react quickly.”
Ella completed her course of antibiotics and was soon back at home, chasing her older brother Callum without a care in the world.
She's now a bright 2 and a half year old and has made a full recovery after the traumatic ordeal.
Stephen and Claire expressed their thanks to the medical teams at both Frenchay and Bristol Children's Hospital for “giving the best care and support possible”.
Now they're hoping Ella's story will inspire people to join Meningitis UK's Summer Stroll.
Stephen added: “It's a well-established event in Bristol now and, having seen photos from previous events, it looks like a great day out and all the family are keen to participate."
“Callum and Ella are looking forward to it and hope people in Bristol will get behind such an important cause.”
Around 200 walkers are expected to walk the 13-mile route between Keynsham and Ashton Gate Stadium, aiming to raise £20,000 towards life-saving vaccine research.
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