7-Year-Old Girl Loses Legs After Doctors Confuse Meningitis For 'Tummy Bug'

A seven-year-old girl lost both of her feet after being tragically misdiagnosed with a stomach bug [...]

By Chris Mottram

A seven-year-old girl lost both of her feet after being tragically misdiagnosed with a stomach bug when she was actually suffering from meningitis. Brogan Partridge was vacationing in England with her parents when the trouble started. She was feeling ill and was vomiting at the beach, so her parents took her to the hospital.

Once there, doctors told her she had a stomach bug and sent her home. Soon after, Patridge began developing what looked like bruises all over her legs.

"We'd just came back from a family break when she contracted meningitis B, Brogan was only seven at the time," her mom, Aimee told The Sun. "She did not seem herself. She'd had a sleepless night and was vomiting. We took her to A&E but they sent us home, saying she only had a tummy bug. I didn't know the symptoms of meningitis at the time. But within about three hours of leaving A&E, she was rushed back in after she started getting a rash."

Once back at the hospital, the doctors ran some tests and confirmed that the girl actually had meningitis B. The bacteria had entered her bloodstream and began causing the bruise-like rash and extreme pain.

"We're so lucky that she was saved but we were devastated when Brogan had to have her left foot amputated due to the septicaemia," her mom said. "The damage was done within just a few hours, but only time will tell how much the disease will affect her life. We were later told told she will need to have her right foot amputated too."

Aimee says her daughter didn't really know what was happening at the time, and has adjusted to her life very well. "She was completely oblivious to it all because she was so heavily medicated at the time," she said. "Her education suffered because of it. But now she's 11, she's adjusted to everything really well. She's always had a good mindset and is determined to get her full independence back."

Brogan was fitted for prosthetic feet to help her adapt to her new way of life.

About 3,200 people per year are diagnosed with meningitis and 10 percent of those that get the disease either die or are left with extreme, life-changing disabilities.

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