“We might have to stop, she just isn’t well.”
Surrounded by the sound of sirens and sight of flashing lights, the words of a NETS retrieval doctor brought Deb’s world to a standstill.
It was only hours ago she had taken her four-year-old daughter Eloise to the Emergency Department at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital with a diagnosis of Group A Streptococcus (Strep A). Now, Eloise was in septic shock.
Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body's response to an infection causes damage to its own tissues and organs. Young children are more susceptible to sepsis than adults because their protective immune systems are developing and unready to fight foreign invading bacteria.
“Children with sepsis are really sick. What starts looking like a simple infection, like a cough or a sore throat, turns into something more serious,” Dr Matt O’Meara, Emergency Staff Specialist at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, said.
For Eloise, it began with a runny nose, cough, fever, and nausea. The initial symptoms were due to the Strep A infection in her lungs but as she developed sepsis, her condition worsened. Eloise became flat, found it difficult to breathe, her abdomen distended, and her blood pressure dropped.
On her return to the local emergency department, she was rushed to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW) via the Neonatal and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) for specialist care. It was on the final stretch from the airport that Deb wondered if her little girl would make it.
“It was the most frightening thing and it still gets me sometimes, when the doctor said that we might have to pull over,” Deb said.
“Luckily it was early in the morning and there was no traffic on the road, so we were going as fast as we could. When we made it to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) a whole team was waiting… Eloise’s case was extremely severe - she was hanging by a thread.”
Eloise was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a complex and highly specialised machine that takes over the role of the heart and lungs, pumping blood out of the body, giving it oxygen, then gently circulating it back.
She remained on ECMO for four days and while it was the hardest and longest time of their lives, Deb and her husband Gino have nothing but praise for the PICU team.
"The PICU doctors were the best, they were so informative and we were with them every step of the way. Seeing the nurses vigilantly doing their work so meticulously, we have no words,” Deb said.
Eloise spent about a month in PICU before being moved to Hunter Baillie Ward, where she stayed for a further two as she continued her specialised treatment plan. Deb relocated to Ronald McDonald House while Gino went back to Coffs Harbour for work, flying down to Sydney each weekend.
Now five months since discharge, Eloise is making strides in her recovery and only needs fortnightly physiotherapy as she builds back her strength. She recently returned to swimming and gymnastics, is riding her scooter and bicycle, and is excited about starting kindergarten in the new year.
Eloise’s story is one that could have had a different and devastating outcome if Deb had waited even a few hours to take action when she saw the warning signs.
It is for that reason she is inspired to raise awareness about sepsis through sharing their story.
“I never thought it could be that quick, that serious and that life threatening. I thought it was just a cold… it was only until down the track that I knew I needed to do something, and I am so glad that I did,” Deb said.
There are many signs and symptoms of sepsis. If your baby or young child has these serious symptoms of sepsis, immediately call Triple Zero (000) or go to a hospital emergency department:
- you feel like your child is very sick or feel that something is seriously wrong with your child. You know your child best.
- getting very sick, very quickly
- not needing to urinate (wee) all day or less wet nappies (less wee) than usual
- being quieter or sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
- irritable and can’t comfort them
- a new concerning rash or a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it
- blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin
- difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their lower chest getting sucked in as they breath) or breathing very quickly
- fever in a child less than 3 months old
- low temperature or cold skin in babies less than 1 month old
- feels floppy when you pick them up
- convulsions or seizures
- a weak or high-pitched cry that's not the same as their normal cry.
Call your doctor or Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (a 24-hour service) if you are unsure or if your baby or young child has these general symptoms of infection that may lead to sepsis:
- fevers in children older than 3 months
- not behaving or acting like they normally do or not interested in eating, feeding or normal activities
- vomiting or diarrhoea.
- swelling or pain around a cut or wound.
Visit the NSW Health website for more information about sepsis.