WAKING up to the sound of your child screaming is every parent’s worst nightmare.
But for Holly and Paul Mckie, their ordeal was about to get even worse when, moments later, they found their daughter having a seizure and unable to speak.
www.rmhc.org.ukSophia (pictured) was diagnosed with a brains-swelling condition called encephalitis[/caption]
The little girl was left with brain damage (pictured: Alyssa, Holly and Sophia)www.rmhc.org.uk
Sophia, who was just three at the time, had recently been unwell with Covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) when she suddenly deteriorated.
On the night of December 3, 2021, the little girl was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where her condition worsened, suffering 20 more seizures within 24 hours.
After being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), Sophia was put on a ventilator to keep her alive as she couldn’t breathe on her own.
Tests soon revealed the little girl was suffering from encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – which doctors said was likely triggered by one of the two bugs she’d recently picked up.
It can lead to brain damage and long-term problems, including memory loss, swallowing issues, and personality changes.
“The doctors told us the condition was life-threatening and that Sophia may not even survive the night,” Holly told Manchester Evening News.
In the days that followed, while doctors desperately tried to keep Sophia alive, the little girl suffered brain damage as a result of the vicious illness.
Once she was taken off the ventilator, the true extent of what the virus had done was laid bare.
Sophie could not open her eyes, hear, talk, walk or free herself, her parents said.
She was also unable to recognise anyone, including her twin sister, Alyssa.
Specialists were called in to help, as Sophia’s case was considered “so severe,” her dad, Paul, recalled.
The little girl was in Sheffield Children’s Hospital for three weeks before being transferred to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), where her intensive rehabilitation began.
After two weeks at RMCH, Sophia was up on her feet again, and her sight and hearing gradually began to return.
It would be another few days before she started to speak, babbling at first like she was learning to speak for the first time.
‘Passionate about raising awareness’
Now, the family are sharing an important warning after their young daughter’s terrifying ordeal.
They want to raise awareness of the dangers of encephalitis, the disease that almost stole away their little girl.
It comes after Professor Tom Solomon, chair of Neurology at the University of Liverpool, warned Sun Health that hundreds of children could die of the brain swelling disease that’s been linked to measles unless more kids are vaccinated.
“She’s [Sophia] now five, a true survivor who goes from strength to strength; I’m now passionate about raising awareness of her condition,” Holly said.
Encephalitis is caused by an infection invading the brain, such as the herpes simplex virus or measles, or by the immune system attacking the brain. In a third of cases, the cause is unknown, Encephalitis International said.
www.rmhc.org.ukSophia managed to defy the odds and is now recovering[/caption]
Symptoms can include an altered level of consciousness, personality or behavioural change, fever and a new persistent headache.
However, according to a new survey commissioned by the charity, eight in 10 (82 per cent) A&E doctors and nurses in the UK are unable to recognise autoimmune encephalitis.
Symptoms of encephalitis to know
ENCEPHALITIS usually starts off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache.
More serious symptoms come on over hours, days or weeks, including:
Confusion or disorientation
Seizures or fits
Changes in personality and behaviour (is the person acting like themselves?)
Difficulty speaking
Weakness or loss of movement in some parts of the body
Loss of consciousness
Dial 999 for an ambulance immediately if you or someone else has these serious symptoms.
Source: NHS