LYDIA'S STORY | | Lydia beat Meningitis but lost her legs to the infection |
Three-year-old Lydia should be getting herself ready for playschool, instead due to a tragic set of circumstances she is recovering from having both legs amputated below the knee. Lydia is a typical three-year-old girl, excited about a playschool sports day, except for this little girl just walking is a constant struggle. She has had to adapt to using prosthetic limbs after both of her legs were surgically removed in December 2003 and her family are left asking how it could happen. Medical misdiagnosisLate one Friday night in 2003 Lydia became ill with a temperature of 105 degrees. This was the day that her family's lives changed forever. Seeing their child so ill, Lydia's parents Tony and Jodie took her to their local doctor that weekend. "She was hallucinating and believed that spiders were crawling over her skin," remembered Tony.  | | Lydia's parents Tony and Jodie tried to get help for their daughter |
She was seen by doctors from the "out of hours" GP service and sent home, only to return on Sunday after there was no improvement. The second GP diagnosed an ear infection and Lydia was again sent home, this time with antibiotics. By Monday Lydia's health was rapidly deteriorating so her mother Jodie rang the health centre once again, this time asking for a doctor to visit her daughter at home. The practice stated that they didn't offer this service, although a doctor did talk to Jodie on the phone and said he felt it was a virus. Life threatening conditionLydia was now so ill that her parents rushed her to the health centre in spite of the diagnosis. When the doctors saw her they immediately admitted her to hospital, her condition was life threatening. | Meningitis Facts | Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord The disease is caused by a bacterial or viral infection Viral Meningitis is the most common form of the disease in the UK and is usually less severe than the
bacterial strain Bacterial Meningitis can be life threatening and is caused by a range of different bacteria There are vaccines available to prevent certain strains of Meningitis but not every form of the disease is covered Around 10 to 25% of the population are carriers of the meningococcal bacteria Source: The Meningitis Trust |
Tony commented, "They said if they had rated it (her illness) out of 10, it was a 10. She couldn't have got any more ill." Lydia was diagnosed with Meningitis. Her little body overwhelmed by the infection, Lydia suffered full organ failure and was put on drugs to keep her lungs, heart and kidneys functioning. Not one to give up easily, Lydia survived the initial trauma but her legs were left so badly damaged that she had to have them amputated just below the knee during a three-hour operation. Life goes onTwo months on and Lydia is recovering remarkably well and Inside Out joined the family on a very special day. After weeks of fundraising, from parachute jumps to coffee mornings, family and friends have helped raise the £5,500 needed to get Lydia a pair of prosthetic legs. As the little girl learns to walk again, her family are left asking whether all this would have been prevented had Lydia been treated earlier.  | | Lydia has learnt to walk again with her prosthetic legs |
A couple of weeks later Lydia returned to playschool with her new legs and even joined in at a sports day. However, life will certainly never be the same for Lydia and her family, who have gone through a life changing experience together. It is Lydia's strength and courage that keeps her parents going. Although proud of their daughter's resilience, Jodie and Tony can't help but worry about the future ahead. They have started to fight for compensation to help pay for Lydia's legs and are still awaiting the verdict of an inquiry into her care at Chippenham Hospital. The Day I Cried - by Health Correspondent Matthew Hill
 | | Matthew Hill |
It was just another news day in December. I had a tip off that a three-year-old girl was about to have her legs amputated because she had flu. Lydia's parents Tony and Jodie agreed for me to come and see them at the hospital. As soon as I arrived I realised that this was not flu but a form of meningitis that sounds like flu, Haemophilus Influenzae. Here was a three year old girl, the same age as my youngest, in extreme pain pointing to her bandaged feet. By this stage septicemia had set in and amputation was imminent. It was already fairly late in the day but talking it through with Tony and Jodie I realised that there had been a very long delay in getting Lydia into hospital. For three days continuously they had taken their daughter to see a variety of GPs complaining of a frighteningly high temperature, hallucination and vomiting. What struck me the most about Tony and Jodie was their determination to find out what may have gone wrong. It seems incredible that, facing this horrendous operation, they were prepared to talk about it publicly. I was also struck that, mercifully, Lydia didn't fully appreciate what was about to happen to her. If she had been any older it would have been even more cruel. The saddest moment was seeing Tony pick up his little girl and take her to the anesthetic bed where she was to be sedated. I felt I had to keep a smile on my face throughout this but her experience affected me profoundly - with tears as I drove back. | 
