Janet Lomax runs a pre-school nursery near Bolton in Yorkshire. She knows all about meningitis because 13 years ago her son Nicki contracted the disease when he was two years old. Thankfully, he survived the ordeal and made a complete recovery. Then, five years ago, the unbelievable happened.
Two of the children who attended her nursery were struck down with the disease on the very same day. Janet remembers it all as if it were yesterday.
'We received a phone call from the doctor of communicable diseases to say one of our children had been taken to hospital with meningococcal meningitis. Three hours later we had another call to say there was a second child with meningitis. There was talk of issuing antibiotics after the first child was diagnosed, but we were told it was an isolated case. Then, when we heard about the second case, everyone who had had any contact with either of the two children was given antibiotics as a precaution.
'We had to phone every parent to give them the news and, of course, gave them the opportunity to come and take their child home if they wanted to.
We had representatives from the health authority here to speak to parents and we kept the nursery open throughout. We even opened on Saturday morning too so that parents could come in and ask any questions they had. Both the children made a full recovery,' says Janet.
Lessons learned
'Following these potentially devastating events, we analysed and evaluated how we had coped. We realised the importance of making sure that the contact details for every child are always up to date. We decided to have a second telephone line installed to make it easier to contact parents while also responding to the calls coming in.
'Although the situation was very worrying for both staff and parents, we were amazed at the amount of support we received from everyone and the crisis seemed to bring us closer as a staff team.
'It certainly heightened our awareness of meningitis, though we were familiar with the symptoms because my son had it nine years before. Some of the staff saw the tell-tale rash - a sign of septicaemia - at the time and I'm sure they will never forget it. Shortly after my son had meningitis we became involved with the Meningitis Trust and have raised funds for it ever since.'
Toddle Waddle
One way to help fight meningitis is to hold a Toddle Waddle, a sponsored walk for the under-fives. The Meningitis Trust will help staff, parents and families involved with nurseries, and this year's Toddle Waddle will be held between 3 and 16 October.
Free Toddle Waddle packs containing sponsorship forms, posters, leaflets on meningitis, fundraising ideas, balloons and much more can be obtained by calling the Meningitis Trust. You can register online at www.toddlewaddle.org or call 0845 120 4530, or complete the Toddle Waddle coupon in Nursery World, 26 August).
Meningitis: the facts
* Meningitis is a relatively rare disease affecting around 3,000 people every year in the UK.
* Meningitis continues to be every parent's worst nightmare because it tends to strike with little warning and can kill within hours.
* One in ten people who contract the bacterial form of the disease will die.
* Many of the survivors will suffer severe after-effects such as deafness, brain damage and, in the case of septicaemia, loss of limbs.
* Meningitis is still responsible for more deaths among the under-fives than any other infectious disease in the UK.
* The Meningitis Trust's 24-hour helpline, led by nurses, offers support and information to worried parents and carers. Contact them day or night on 0845 6000 800.
Further information
* The Meningitis Trust 24-hour helpline can be contacted from the UK on 0845 6000 800 (calls charged at local rates), or the Republic of Ireland on 1800 523 196 (freephone). Alternatively, questions and concerns can be e-mailed to helpline@ meningitis-trust.org.
