Megan Tracey

Ireland Meningococcal Toddler 1-3 Parent

Total raised in memory of Megan Tracey

Our little angel who was taken too soon. She was smart funny and full of smiles she brought us so much joy and is missed every day by her whole family.

"I will never forget the day and night of the 1st of March 2005", - says Kaylee Tracey

Megan woke up happy and full of life. She had eaten all her breakfast and we went down town with her baby doll and little buggy and got lunch in a café. After lunch time she looked unwell and her temp was a little high, so I gave her Calpol and she was having nap in her buggy. Her cousin had the gastric bug that week so I thought she might of been coming down with that.

By dinner time she had diarrhoea and got sick. She was staying with her dad for few hours while I helped my brother move house. I remember her not wanting me to go and was very clingy - I should have stayed with her.

When I picked her up from her dad's she was just sleeping on his chest. I brought her home and called my mum on the way and asked advice on what to give her for getting sick, she told me flat 7up. She then texted me and told me to check for a rash.

When I got Meg home and changed her bum, I noticed a tiny little rash on her ribs. It looked more like a bruise, like blood under the skin. I brought her back to her dad's so he could look. Meg had gone very tired and drowsy and just didn't look right.

We brought her to the docs. They said the rash could just be burst blood vessels from getting sick and she might be dehydrated and may need a drip. They said we could bring her home or go to Tallaght hospital. We said we would rather bring her to the hospital, the ambulance would take too long.

So we drove and they said they would ring ahead so will be seen straight away. On the way there Meg was in her car seat and we could just hear little moans coming from her, like as if she was just too tired to even cry. We kept saying, “It's ok baby, we will be there soon”, her dad rubbing her leg from the front seat.

"We still didn't suspect meningitis, but when we arrived Meg had a few more dots of rashes on her forehead."

We were left waiting over an hour before even a triage nurse saw us. They didn't take the referral letter and it was only after I noticed Meg’s finger nails going blue that I went up and asked for her to be seen.
The docs came out. As soon as they saw her they took her out of my arms straight away. Her dad had just got back from getting her some water and didn't know what was happening. They called a code blue - everything happened so fast there were doctors all around her. We were told to wait outside and it seemed like we were waiting forever. I started to pray that she would be ok.

The next time we saw her she looked so different. The rash was from head to toe, all except her button little nose, and her body was all puffed out. She was awake and looking straight at her dad still with the tiny little moans. They said they needed to get her to Crumlin.

"I went into shock. We were given fizzy drink and told to ring some family to meet us in Crumlin. I watched them put her in an ambulance and we followed in a taxi."

When we arrived in Crumlin and went to where she was they were keeping her alive by pounding on her little chest. I thought if they could just get her on life support and give her a little rest she would be fine - she just needed to sleep.

They couldn't get her on life support as all her organs were filling up with blood. They said they will have to let her go. I screamed and broke down. Our family had just arrived at the hospital and we were all just in bits.
Megan died in the early hours in the morning of the 2nd of March - our little baby who we had so many dreams for. Cause of death was meningococcal septicaemia.

Prevention is better than cure. If I had of known all the symptoms, acted faster and trusted my gut more, maybe they could have saved her.

She is missed every day. Me and her dad have had 3 children since. They always talk about her as she is still a huge part of our family. Her memory will live on through us. x x x

Written by: Kayley Tracey
May 2016

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