Patron Joe meets Bristol family hit by meningitis
08.01.10
PANTO star Joe Swash swapped his Prince Charming costume for a lab coat when he met a little girl from Bristol who almost died from meningitis a year ago.
Cute Ashlee Downes, from Almondsbury near Bristol, was just a few months old when she was struck down by the most deadly form of the brain bug at Christmas.
Joe, who is a patron of Meningitis UK, met the fully-recovered youngster as he learnt about the work of the charity.
The actor, who was struck down by a rare form of the disease in 2005, is supporting the Search 4 a Vaccine Campaign.
Along with Ashlee and her mum Rachael, Joe saw first-hand the £200,000 project which Meningitis UK is funding at the University of Bristol to find a vaccine for Meningitis B - the most common strain of the disease in this country.
Joe, who is currently starring in Snow White in Bristol, said: "I fell ill about four years ago. The only thing I knew about meningitis was that there's a rash. I wasn't until I got the disease that I realised there are so many different forms you can catch and how it affects people.
"I remember waking up and being off balance. It felt like I'd had a stroke because I couldn't move one side of my body.
"Going to hospital was a blur. It took about seven months before I could go back to work. I'm lucky because I survived unscathed when so many people don't."
Joe was 23 when he fell ill with meningoencephalitis - a rare form of viral meningitis which causes inflammation of the brain.
It left him struggling with his coordination and speech, fearing his acting dreams would be shattered.
Joe recovered and went back to Eastenders before being crowned King of the Jungle in 2008.
Little Ashlee was very much a fan of the star, even planting a kiss on his cheek during the lab tour.
The 16-month-old is literally one in a million after getting a very rare strain of pneumococcal meningitis.
Doctors said that had it not been for mum Rachael's quick-thinking then the tot may not have received treatment for the killer brain bug in time.
Initially Rachael thought Ashlee was teething or had picked up a cold due to the winter weather, but alarm bells rang when she turned blue and stopped breathing for a while.
Rachael, 32 and from Almondsbury, said: "Ashlee had been ill for a while, not wanting to be picked up and crying when she was. She was very miserable, which wasn't like her. When she stopped breathing for a brief amount of time I took her to Frenchay.
"They said she would be ok and to be alert if it happened again. Then on Christmas day, she was very quiet and had a droning cry, almost like she couldn't be bothered to cry.
"A few days later she looked quite waxy and wouldn't open her eyes or move. She was really floppy and hadn't wanted a feed for 36 hours. I called Frendoc and they advised me to go straight to the children's hospital."
By the time Rachael arrived, Ashlee's breathing was really fast and her temperature had rocketed to 39 degrees.
Because she was drifting in and out of consciousness, she was taken straight to the resuscitation unit and put on a drip.
Rachael, a mum of four, remembered: "At this point I had no idea what was wrong with her. It was heartbreaking seeing her wired up to heart monitors.
"When the doctor said he suspected meningitis I was so upset. I knew how serious it was as my nan died from the disease 11 years earlier."
Ashlee started to improve but had a fit three days later due to the meningitis causing so much swelling around the brain.
But the "little fighter" pulled through and was allowed home after 10 days in hospital.
Ashlee is now a sprightly tot and her family are thankful she's still alive, especially as pneumococcal meningitis can cause death in one in six cases.
Joe, who finishes his stint in Snow White this weekend, said: "The work that's going on here is brilliant. It affects so many people and the work to find a future vaccine to prevent meningitis is such a well-deserving cause."
Classic meningitis symptoms in adults are a headache, stiff neck and a dislike of bright light. Other symptoms can include difficulty supporting own weight, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and confusion and drowsiness.
Symptoms that may exist with meningococcal septicaemia - the blood poisoning form - include aching limbs, cold hands and feet and a rash which starts like pin prick marks and develops rapidly into purple bruising.
People are urged to seek medical help as soon as they become concerned. They should not wait for a rash to develop, as this is a sign of the more dangerous meningococcal septicaemia and may not appear with meningitis.
Meningitis UK's is offering free symptoms information packs to help raise awareness. These include a leaflet with all the facts and frequently asked questions, plus a ‘Check the Symptoms' fridge magnet and a handy wallet-sized symptoms card.
To order your free symptoms information pack, please call 0117 373 73 73 or visit www.meningitisUK.org
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
Comments
Comments are temporarily closed for this article