Although meningitis can affect individuals of all ages, those most at risk are newborns and children. Their underdeveloped immune systems and their bodies being more susceptible to diseases make this situation worse. Baby Irem was one of the patients who contracted meningitis while she was still in infancy. Now let's listen to the story her family told us:
Irem was a baby born via cesarean section and stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for 2 days. Our baby, who was born prematurely, was admitted to the ward with a general deterioration and respiratory failure. After receiving treatment and returning to normal, she was discharged from the ward.
When we got home, we were both relieved and realized how worried we were that even the slightest thing would happen to our baby. So we continued for a little over 3 months. Although Irem had some problems breastfeeding, she was gaining weight and growing taller. We were also happy to have a baby. Sometimes, especially at night, she would get restless and cry for hours, but then she would fall asleep. There were no problems during the day either.
Whatever happened, it happened on the night of May 22. It was another night when she cried like crazy and didn't nurse. Our already frayed nerves were getting frayed even more with the question "I wonder if she's sick?" every time. We realized that İrem had a fever. Since she wasn't nursing and didn't respond to antipyretics, we went to the nearest emergency room. The doctors immediately did the tests and got approval from us with a document stating that they wanted to "take fluid from İrem's back." We were scared because it was the first time we heard something like this, but we would do anything for İrem to get better. We agreed.
Our physician in charge said that the fluid was cloudy and that this could be a sign of "meningitis". This was the first time we had heard of this disease and our physician explained it to us briefly and started the treatment immediately. We were relieved. Thanks to the antibiotics we took for 7 days, İrem's fever did not rise and her breastfeeding returned to normal. Just as we were about to rejoice, İrem's fever returned on the 8th day of our treatment. She started crying. When we told our physician this, he did the tests again and said that the cause of İrem's disease was a bacteria called "meningococcus". They supported her treatment with additional antibiotics. Our baby, whose fever dropped again, completed her treatment and was discharged a few days later.
When we were discharged, we were advised to go to the emergency room if we had the same symptoms again. We were also asked to follow the vaccination schedule in the National Vaccination Program, along with the meningitis vaccines. Meningitis can cause deafness, so they suggested we repeat the hearing test after 3 months.
Irem is healthy now, and although she still cries at night and keeps us awake, we are more comfortable and conscious since she does not have a fever.
As the Meningitis Volunteers Association, we thank Baby İrem and her family for telling their story and wish them healthy days.