Abbey Clancy has detailed her ‘trauma’ after her daughter Sophia was rushed to hospital with viral meningitis during a recent family holiday to Portugal.
The model, 37, said she and her husband Peter Crouch jetted off to Portugal over Easter with their four kids – Sophia, 12, Liberty, seven, Johnny, five, and Jack, three.
She explained how her eldest daughter Sophia caught viral meningitis during their holiday and admitted she has never been so scared in her life.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal chord, which can be very serious and potentially life-changing if not treated quickly.
Speaking on her and Peter’s joint podcast The Therapy Crouch in Tuesday’s episode, Abbey recalled: ‘The school holidays have been tough.
Terrifying: Abbey Clancy has detailed her ‘trauma’ after her daughter Sophia was rushed to hospital with viral meningitis during a recent family holiday to Portugal
‘We got to Portugal and Sophia was in hospital with meningitis which was just the scariest thing on earth – being in a foreign hospital, language barriers, the words like meningitis being thrown around, lumber punctures, brain scans.
‘It was horrific – I felt so vulnerable – and scary. But I must say the medical care over there were just out of this world.
‘These things always happen on a Sunday at one o’clock in the morning, just to add to that fear and that scariness of the situation. It can never be a normal hour.’
Abbey said she ‘knew’ something was wrong with Sophia and that she wasn’t suffering from a normal bug, before she was diagnosed with meningitis.
The mother-of-four detailed how her and Peter’s fears increased when their youngest son Jack also developed a terrible cough and breathing problems, leading to them taking him to hospital as well.
Abbey explained: ‘Having three babies at home I was thinking “what if they catch it?”. So we were on like high alert. We didn’t sleep at all. I was watching every child like a hawk. It was just terrifying.
‘The other three all got sick. They all got flu and coughs. Sophia was out the hospital and we were back in the hospital with them because I was thinking “I’ve got three other children, can they catch this viral meningitis?” It was traumatic.’
Abbey said she and Peter only had around four hours of sleep in 30 hours amid their fears for their children, with both Sophia and Jack having to be taken to hospital.
Holiday: The model, 37, said she and her husband Peter Crouch jetted off to Portugal over Easter with their four kids – Sophia, 12, Liberty, seven, Johnny, five, and Jack, three
Abbey said: ‘I’ve never been so scared in my life. And Jack going to the hospital in Portugal as well because he was coughing.’
Peter, 42, added: ‘That was just because we were so worried about Sophia, when he started coughing we felt like we had to take him.’
Abbey, who previously revealed she has a hospital phobia after Sophia spent three weeks in Great Ormond Street as a baby, continued: ‘Viral meningitis doesn’t present as a cough, but he literally didn’t stop coughing. He had no breath in between.’
Peter admitted the strain of the situation pushed him to the limit and led him to snap at Abbey because he didn’t want to take Jack in, even though he knew he needed to have him checked.
He told Abbey on the podcast: ‘I had a little bite at you. I’d just got into bed. I thought I’ll sleep with him just to make sure he was alright. And he just did not stop coughing, and you were like “right, you’ve got take him to hospital”.
‘And I knew I had to, but I was like “you just f***ing want me to live in hospitals”.’
Peter said he was on night duty in the hospital before the two of them swapped for the day.
He continued: ‘Obviously [Sophia] had to stay in so we were just doing shifts. I was like doing the night shifts and then Ab was doing the day shift.
‘And we were on separate holidays completely. It wasn’t a holiday to be honest, it was just looking after her.
‘And it was scary, but then obviously you’ve got to look after the little ones. So that was obviously a traumatic experience.’
To add to the scary holiday, Abbey said their sickness scares continued on their flight home when their daughter Liberty caught a vomiting bug.
Abbey said: ‘We got home from Portugal all exhausted. Then get into bed, everyone’s asleep and then Liberty comes in and goes “Mum, dad, I feel like I’ve got the vomiting bug”.
Hard times: Abbey and Peter explained how their eldest daughter Sophia caught viral meningitis during their holiday and Abbey admitted she has never been so scared in her life
Fears: Peter (pictured with his four children) described the ordeal during their family holiday as ‘traumatic’
‘And Pete went “f**k this, I can’t be arsed with this”. And he just stood up and walked out the room and went into another bedroom.
‘So that was another night no sleep for me because I was freaking out.’
Peter added: ‘I was like ‘I’m out now, I’m just not doing this any more. I went to a different bed and shut the door and turned the light off. I washed my hands of it.
‘I couldn’t do any more. Sometimes you’ve got to tap out.’
WHAT IS MENINGITIS?
Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Anyone can be affected but at-risk people include those aged under five, 15-to-24 and over 45.
People exposed to passive smoking or with suppressed immune systems, such as patients undergoing chemotherapy, are also more at risk.
The most common forms of meningitis are bacterial and viral.
Symptoms for both include:
- Pale, blotchy skin with a rash that does not fade when compressed with a glass
- Stiff neck
- Dislike of bright lights
- Fever, and cold hands and feet
- Vomiting
- Drowsiness
- Severe headache
Headache is one of the main symptoms
Bacterial meningitis
Bacterial meningitis requires urgent treatment at hospital with antibiotics.
Some 10 per cent of bacterial cases are fatal.
Of those who survive, one in three suffer complications, including brain damage and hearing loss.
Limb amputation is a potential side effect if septicaemia (blood poisoning) occurs.
Vaccines are available against certain strains of bacteria that cause meningitis, such as tuberculosis.
Viral meningitis
Viral is rarely life-threatening but can cause long-lasting effects, such as headaches, fatigue and memory problems.
Thousands of people suffer from viral meningitis every year in the UK.
Treatment focuses on hydration, painkillers and rest.
Although ineffective, antibiotics may be given when patients arrive at hospital just in case they are suffering from the bacterial form of the disease.
Source: Meningitis Now
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