Little Mea is putting up a fight
Mea Meyer (6) from Boksburg is slowly recovering from cerebral meningitis, after a whole year of going in and out of hospitals and ICU.
A week before Mea’s fifth birthday, on June 9 2015, Mea’s school called her mother, Zandré, alerting her that her child had fallen ill in class and was vomiting.
Zandré said she fetched Mea from the school immediately as Mea had developed a viral rash the previous week.
“At the time I was booked off sick from work with bronchitis and thought that she might have caught a bug from me. On arrival at home she was fine, eating a little and playing in her room. However, when she was experiencing lethargy and running a fever the next morning we decided to see the doctor.
“Her condition soon worsened visibly and we took her to the Sunward Park Hospital,” Mea’s mother said.
Mea was admitted to the hospital’s paediatric unit, where it was established that she had contracted meningitis. Subsequent computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed swelling of the brain (obstructive hydrocephalus) as well as an intracranial brain abscess.
Mea’s struggles intensified as she lost consciousness and had to be intubated (a flexible tube is inserted into the trachea windpipe to maintain an open airway and serves as a conduit through which to administer certain drugs).
She was rushed to the theatre where an external ventricular drain (EVD) was inserted to relieve pressure on the brain.
On June 12 last year, Mea was airlifted to Netcare Clinton Hospital’s paediatric ICU, where a scan revealed that she also had an ischemic stroke.
A EVD was then inserted and she was under sedation for 42 days. At the time Mea was critically ill, suffering multi-organ failure.
She was eventually diagnosed with, inter alia, streptococcal meningitis, obstructive hydrocephalus, an intracranial abscess, respiratory failure and septicaemia.
Mea then underwent an operation to drain the intracranial abscess.
More scans followed, which revealed the extent of the infection and damage to the brain.
“A gastrostomy tube was inserted directly into my child’s stomach to feed her since she was unable to eat. She experienced intermittent slow heartbeat (autonomic instability or bradycardia) and when sedation was stopped she received a pacemaker to stabilise her heart rate,” said the mother.
“In August, Mea began to open her eyes and in September she began saying a few words and drinking and eating a little orally.
“At that time, she was critically ill but in consultation with the doctors it was then decided that it would be better for her to recuperate at home since the environment would be more conducive to her healing, combined with a lower risk of infection.”
Mea was discharged from hospital for the first time on December 18, 2015 after six months in ICU. On December 21 she was readmitted to the hospital due to respiratory failure and was then discharged for the second time on January 9, 2016.
Mea is now recovering at home but still on a ventilator.
She is currently on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a treatment that uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open for most of the day.
Zandré said Mea’s cognitive development and vocabulary has improved considerably since she has been recovering at home.
“She recognises her family members, knows their names and now manages to say short sentences instead of just words. Currently, Mea’s mobility is still impaired but it’s slowly improving,” Meyer said.
However, Mea still has a critical illness called polyneuropathy (a disease of peripheral nerves, occurring as a complication of severe trauma or infection) and myopathy (skeletal muscle impairment).
“The doctor’s main focus is to wean Mea off the ventilator so that she may enter rehabilitation, since there is no rehabilitation centre in South Africa that will accept her while she is dependent on a ventilator. ”
Mea’s family is pleading to the public for a neurologist or neurosurgeon to come forward with advice on how Mea’s recovery could be sped up.
“We are continuing to pray for her recovery. There is progress but it is very slow. We would appreciate any assistance in this regard,” Meyer said.
Anyone who would like to assist may contact 011 893 2920 or email Mea’s aunt Zandre van Rensburg at z.vanrensburg@yahoo.com.
