A mother recalls the poignant moment when she was warned that her critically ill baby girl might not survive after being stricken with meningitis, which was initially misdiagnosed.
Kate Franks-McDonald, the younger sister of New Zealand All Blacks rugby union stars Owen and Ben Franks, has opened up about the ordeal to raise awareness about the deadly disease, which can have tragic consequences if symptoms are missed.
The mother-of-two hopes that sharing her story will serve as a reminder to other parents to trust their gut feeling and intuition.
One night in 2018, Mrs. Franks-McDonald was home alone with her nine-month-old daughter, Millie.
The little girl was restless and wouldn’t sleep after developing cold symptoms.
Her husband Sam was away with work commitments at the time.
She took her daughter to a GP the next day, who suspected Millie had a viral cold and told her to come back if her health deteriorated. New Zealand Herald reported.
Millie Franks-McDonald (pictured as a baby) was nine months old when she contracted meningitis. She is her All Blacks star uncle Owen Franks, mum Kate, dad Sam McDonald and the Bledisloe Cup.
Mrs Franks-McDonald was back at the doctor two hours later after Millie developed a rash, which was diagnosed as chickenpox before they were sent home.
She still suspected something wasn’t right, and later that night she hurried her daughter over emergency care after hours after Millie started vomiting.
TThe GP saw the results and immediately called an ambulance to rush Millie to hospital.
Over the course of the next few hours, Millie slipped in and out of consciousness while hooked up to heart rate and blood pressure machines as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong and save her life.
Mrs. Franks-McDonald will never forget being told her little girl could die within hours and calling the family so they could say goodbye while her frantic husband brought grace home.
‘The room emptied and the alderman and the doctor from ED came by and said we’re not going to cover this up. This can go both ways. Your child is going to die in the next few hours or she will react and we’ll see what that looks like for Millie,” she told the publication.
“It was like an out-of-body experience, like being in a horrible movie.
I kept thinking: this is not right and it is not happening. I just wanted to pick up Millie and run.
”
The most common form of meningitis is bacterial meningitis, which is usually caused by infection of meningococcal bacteria (stock image)
Fortunately, Millie’s condition improved.
Now 5, she has since made a full recovery with no lifelong consequences.
However, the health scare halted her growth for the following year and prevented her from gaining weight as her tiny body recovered.
“The doctors explained that when your body heals and it takes in a lot of energy, it shuts down other areas that aren’t needed and puts the focus on what’s needed most, which was her immunity,” Ms Franks-McDonald said.
She’s glad she trusted guts and intuition and got Millie to the hospital when she did.
“Meningitis didn’t even cross my mind. If I had any knowledge about meningitis and knew even half of the symptoms, I would have taken her to the hospital myself,” said Franks-McDonald.
‘Nothing beats your intuition or gut feeling and you have to make do with that.’
The most common form of meningitis is bacterial meningitis, which is usually caused by an infection with meningococcal bacteria.
The condition is life-threatening and can cause death within hours if not treated properly.
Millie is the niece of NZ All Blacks stars Owen and Ben Franks (pictured)
Babies and children under the age of 5 and adolescents aged 15-19 are most at risk.
Symptoms in babies to watch out for include fever, vomiting, lethargy/difficulty waking up, stiff neck, blank expression, aversion to being held, pale/patchy complexion, and high-pitched crying.
The warning comes amid a spike in meningococcal cases across New Zealand as the cold winter months approach.
The latest research from New Zealand’s Crown Research Institute shows that the number of cases will increase by more than 50 percent in 2022 compared to 2021.
Pacific and Māori children have three to five times more meningococcal disease than other children.
Doctors have urged parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against meningococcal B.
“It’s a disease we always think of when we see a child who has a fever and New Zealand has a long history of much higher rates of meningococcal B disease.” Dr. Owen Sinclair told Stuff.