Lucy's story

“Lucy seemed a bit out of sorts” Amanda said. “She was sleeping a lot and even slept through a couple of feeds. Early that evening Lucy suddenly stopped breathing. We called 999 and the operator talked us through what to do and within minutes two ambulances arrived and thankfully the paramedics revived her."

We were rushed to Walsgrave Hospital, where Lucy stopped breathing several times again, so she was put on to a ventilator, given antibiotics and we were quickly transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital intensive care unit."

The following morning Lucy had a lumbar puncture and it was then that we received the devastating news that our baby had bacterial meningitis.”

Lucy spent four days in intensive care at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and was then transferred back to Walsgrave Hospital, where she spent a further three weeks."

“There is no way to tell if the meningitis has impacted Lucy’s development. She will have to have ongoing checks, but so far she seems to be well and has had hearing and sight tests, which seem to be okay. Having experienced the trauma of meningitis in our family, every step we move closer to introducing lifesaving vaccines is very welcome news.”

Since then Amanda has raised awareness in the local community through taking part in radio and newspaper interviews and has also collected donations as part of Nuneaton Carnival.