Amy Walkden fell ill when she was nine months old
Kirstie Walkden shudders to think what would have happened to her baby girl if she had taken her hospital’s advice.
Last year Mrs Walkden, 29, took her nine-month-old daughter Amy to A&E after she fell ill.
‘Amy had seemed a bit out of sorts for a day or two,’ said the mental health worker from Manchester.
‘I took her to A&E on the Sunday when her symptoms escalated; temperature, vomiting, mottled skin, fast breathing, lethargic.
‘However, we were sent home with antibiotics for a suspected ear infection. I was surprised but felt reassured.’ But Mrs Walkden, who is married to Chris, 38, and also mum to Dylan, five, saw her daughter’s condition worsen.
‘Back at home her temperature continued to soar and by the Tuesday she was no longer eating or drinking and I couldn’t get any normal response from her,’ she said.
Amy’s mother says her maternal instincts made her ignore medical advice and seek a second opinion
‘My instincts were screaming this was serious so I made the decision to take her back to hospital – where all hell broke loose.
‘This time the hospital were amazing and within an hour they were treating her for suspected meningitis and sepsis. The diagnosis was later confirmed as pneumococcal meningitis. We were living a nightmare and pleading for her to keep on fighting, and on day 18 she was finally well enough to come home.
‘Only time will tell what long term impact the disease has had on her, but so far she has exceeded all expectations. I shudder to think what could have happened if I’d not trusted my instincts and gone back so soon.’