Penelope Vidal-Walsh, 10, from Southport, went to bed on Wednesday April 10, complaining of feeling unwell and spent the last eight days sedated in intensive care
A schoolgirl who went to bed feeling unwell has spent the past eight days sedated in intensive care, after waking up with a ‘bruise’ that many parents wouldn’t find suspicious.
On Wednesday, April 10, Penelope Vidal-Walsh, 10, from Southport, informed her parents she wasn’t feeling well before heading to bed around 9pm. The young girl woke up around 2am and was sick.
Her father, Ricardo Vidal, bathed her and gave her a once-over but didn’t notice anything alarming, so the youngster returned to bed. The family woke up the next morning and Penelope had breakfast but was ill again at around 8.30am. Her dad bathed her again but this time spotted a small purple mark on her neck. Then, after she got dressed post-bath, her mum, Elizabeth, and dad noticed another purple rash on her knee.
Penelope’s aunt, Angel Walsh, 35, explained how the alert parents performed ‘the glass’ test, which is recommended by the NHS as a method to evaluate a rash, especially when suspecting meningitis or septicaemia.
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By pressing a glass against the rash to see if it fades under pressure, if the rash remains visible through the glass (a non-blanching rash), it’s a potential indicator of a serious infection and immediate medical attention is required, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Angel described the terrifying moment Penelope was rushed to Ormskirk Hospital and then quickly transferred to Alder Hey, after a rash remained visible, where she was diagnosed with meningitis, quickly sedated, and taken to intensive care. Penelope is now breathing through a respirator, and according to Angel, it’s ‘touch and go’, with the parents being told the first 24 hours would be the most critical period. Fortunately, Penelope overcame that period.
Angel continued: “Yesterday we had a good update that the meningitis infection has now gone and she has meningococcal disease now and it’s about the recovery. There’s so many risks from limb damage, sight and hearing, to a brain injury. The infection can get to her brain. Thankfully, a brain scan came back clear but it’s all quite uncertain at the moment.”
The family now wants to spread awareness of the dangers of meningitis and its terrifying symptoms to look out for. Angel said: “It’s scary how it came out of nowhere. If the rash had appeared 12 hours earlier when it was dark, her parents might not have seen it and she could have gone to bed and never woken up. We’re so thankful it was light when the rash appeared and her parents spotted it.
“It was the worst news her mum and dad could have got, the only positive thing is that they spotted it and acted so quickly. We have three children and I don’t think we would have been aware enough to act so quickly.
“I didn’t even know what a meningitis rash looked like. I thought it would be like a normal heat rash and we want to make other parents aware so they know what to look out for. If your child is complaining of feeling unwell, take them to the doctors to be checked out because you don’t know what it could be. It’s scary how quickly it happened.”
She added: “It was her parents’ worst fear, it was the worst news they could have got and it’s been really hard. It has impacted us all. The whole family has stopped what they are doing to be by her side. Her parents haven’t been able to go to work and have been by her bedside.”
Symptoms of meningitis and sepsis include:
- a high temperature
- cold hands and feet
- vomiting
- confusion
- breathing quickly
- muscle and joint pain
- pale, mottled or blotchy skin (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- spots or a rash (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- headache
- a stiff neck
- a dislike of bright lights
- being very sleepy or difficult to wake
- fits (seizures)
To support the family Angel and her husband Joe have set up a GoFundMe to raise money to support the family while Penelope recovers. She added: “Unfortunately bills don’t stop and they haven’t been able to go to work. We just want to help in any way we can, we feel useless.” You can donate to the GoFundMe for Penelope and her family here.
