on the 18th january 2009, my daughter Enya-Leigh was born. I took her home that night and everything appeared to be fine. Like all first time mums it was all a bit new and every cry was the same. she was eating and sleeping as a new born should.

on day 5 she had a very mild tempiture, which came and went. The midwife came and said she was fine and it was the flat that was warm. The following evening she was sick. My mother rushed us into A&E where they measured her head, which had swollen and took her into her own room. with loads of consultants and doctors and nurses around her, i didnt know what was happeneing, till I heard the word.... 'lumberpuncher' at that moment my mother turned to me and said 'they think its meningitis' .

When i heard that awful word i thought she was going to die. after the lumberpuncher and body scan we was taken to the star light ward. it took a few hours to get the results back from the lumberpuncher which confirmed it was meningitis. then took a further 48 hours to find out what type. It came back as the bacterial meningitis. this meant the following hours where critical and we wasnt sure to what exstent she would be effected. she was on medication every 4 hours for 2 weeks and got stronger and stronger. Enya was a lucky girl, to this day she has no after effects but alot of children with the same condition loose their sight, their hearing, have learning difficutlies and more..... but one other effect is death.

I am doing this fundraister to help other families and people effected. meningitis can effect anyone at anytime. so lets pull together and raise awareness. Thank you x