When life turns on you

 

Syed and Christian quickly followed the stretcher that held their daughter, through the narrow corridors.

"This is Matilda Hafsa Massood. She's seven weeks old and vomited and became listless at home. She has a rash across her chest, groin and legs. GCS was 10 but has dropped to 6. We have administered IV paracetamol." The paramedic reeled off as Matilda was put onto the bed.

Syed and Christian watched on anxiously.

"Hi, i'm Dr Hanna. Has your daughter had any vaccinations yet?" She asked as she listened to Matilda's chest. 

"No, she was due to get the first lot next week." Christian replied. 

"And nothing like this has ever happened before?" Dr Hanna asked.

Syed shook his head.

"No, she's been perfectly healthy!" 

"Okay. Could one of you hold her hand? We need to get some blood from her so we can start ruling things out." Dr Hanna asked.

"I'll wait over here." Syed said.

Christian crouched down beside the bed and held on tightly to his daughter's hand.

"Hey Tilly. You're being so brave. Daddy and Papa are both so proud of you. I know it hurts, but these nice doctors and nurses are going to make you better." Christian spoke softly as Matilda began to cry.

"And done." Dr Hanna said as Matilda began to seize.

"She's...She's...." Christian said as he moved out of the way.

"Someone get them out please!" Dr Hanna called out.

A nurse quickly guided them out of the room.

"She's dying." Syed said as a tear rolled down his face.

"Don't say that!" Christian snapped.

"She's strong. She's brave and I KNOW she'll survive this." Christian said firmly as he watched on as the doctors and nurses continued to work on Matilda.

A few minutes later and nurse came out.

"We need to get access for an IV, but her veins are too small, could one of you come and distract her while we try another method?" She asked as Christian nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" Christian asked as he looked at his daughter.

One nurse was holding an oxygen mask slightly above her face, another was monitoring her heartrate. 

There must've seven or more doctors and nurses in the room.

"As Nurse Corrigan said, Matilda's veins are too small, and we haven't had any luck so far in finding one that will hold and not damage the vein itself. We need to drill into her bone so we can re-hydrate her that way." Dr Hanna said as Christian's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. 

Pulling himself together, he started talking to her.

"You are so brave. And so strong. And so loved." Christian spoke.

Hearing the sound of the drill being inserted made him cringe and want to pick Matilda up and run away. 

"It's okay. I know it hurts. I know. Daddy's here." Christian soothed.

Matilda continued to cry and wiggle around, becoming more distressed. 

"All done." Dr Hanna said, a small smile on her face.

"Do you have any idea what this is?" Christian asked.

"Well, the blood test did flag up that she's very slightly anaemic so once she's hydrated a little more, we will start her on formula which will have fortified iron in. That should bring her levels back up to where they need to be. As to the root cause, we still aren't entirely sure. With you and your partners permission we would like to do a Lumbar Puncture to rule out some of the nastier infections." Dr Hanna explained.

"Can we be with her when you are doing it?" Christian asked. 

"Of course. I'll just grab the consent forms for you to go through." Dr Hanna said as she left.

Christian beckoned Syed back into the room.

"Oh, look at her..." Syed said as he walked in. 

"What did the doctor say?" Syed asked.

"They want to do a lumbar puncture to rule out anything nasty. She's just gone to get the consent forms." Christian explained as Matilda's alarms went off.

Both Syed and Christian looked at her worriedly.

"It's okay. Her oxygen levels have dropped, she just needs an increase to help her." Nurse Corrigan said as she turned the oxygen tank pressure up further. 

Dr Hanna returned with the forms. 

"Is there not any other option?" Syed asked as he and Christian read the forms.

"She's continuing to deteriorate despite what we are doing to help her, if we leave her much longer then she could start to go into respiratory failure." Dr Hanna explained. 

"Okay. Do it." Christian said as he signed the form.

With a sigh, Syed signed the form too.

Within 5 minutes the operation began.

"So, she won't feel a thing?" Syed asked.

"No, she's very lightly sedated." Dr Hanna confirmed as she put the needle in.

After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again.

"It's positive." she spoke. 

"For what?" Syed asked.

"There was protein in the sample and normally that's an indicator that it is Meningitis." Dr Hanna said.

"So, what now?" Christian asked. 

"We will continue to monitor her for the rest of the day and provide her with oxygen and fluids. we will also begin a course of IV antibiotics. You'll stay for at least three days, possibly longer depending on how her recovery is." Dr Hanna explained. 

 

"She'll make a full recovery though?" Syed asked. 

"She should do. There's a slim chance that she could be left with some vision and hearing impairments, however this is very slim." Dr Hanna finished. 

Nurse Corrigan finished stitching up the small hole in Matilda's back. 

 

"I'll put a call in that she's moved to the PICU." Dr Hanna said softly.

"PICU?" Christian questioned. 

"Paediatric Intensive Care unit. They can monitor her needs better there." Dr Hanna said.

Within 15 minutes, they had been moved the PICU and the two men settled down for the rest of the day, keeping a watchful eye over Matilda.