Ruth Julias' story

Evelyn Julias (29) from Bangwe, Blantyre in Malawi tells us about how her 7 month old daughter Ruth got sick in June this year.

Ruth first started to become sick on the 1st June, she kept being sick in the morning and in the afternoon; her temperature was so high and she was crying uncontrollably. I thought she had either pneumonia or malaria so took her to Bangwe health facility that day.

The doctors at the clinic did not say what was wrong with Ruth but gave her an injection and told me to buy some panandol (because the clinic did not have any in stock) and were sent home. Later that day when we were back at home Ruth’s condition got worse and she was having convulsions so I decided to take her back to the clinic the next morning. When we got there she given another injection and we were told to take her to QECH. We had to take Ruth on public transport as there was no ambulance. 

When we got to the hospital the nurse weighing her noticed that Ruth was unconscious and they took her into the emergency room where she was put on oxygen because she was having difficulties in breathing. They then gave her an injection and did some tests to try and find out what was wrong with her – they said they thought she had either meningitis or pneumonia.

We have been here for seven days and it has had a huge impact of the family as I have not been able to look after my other three children (12, 8 and 3 years old) so my husband who is a builder has had to look after them. My business of selling home cooked snacks by the road side has stopped as well. 

The doctors also did an MRI scan and the results have shown that the brain has been affected so I am fearful of her future as she will have difficulties in her education. 

Now that Ruth has had meningitis I think I would be able to spot it if anyone else caught the disease. I have told my family what to look for and to get medical help quickly when anyone is sick.

Evelyn Julias
June 2015