In recent weeks you have read the stories of mothers about their deceased child on NU.nl. Who were they and what is their story? In this last episode, Meggy Drost (52) talks about her daughter Sammie, who was just over twenty months old. She passed away on Valentine’s Day 2018 from meningitis.
A sweet, happy and healthy girl. That was Sammie, daughter of Meggy, who passed away on February 14, 2018. For Meggy and her husband Lennard (50), their daughter was the icing on the cake.
After meeting eight years ago, they decided to have a baby together. For Meggy a dream come true. Unlike Lennard, she had no children and at the age of 44 she still cherished her desire to have children.
Whether it would succeed was the question, but to their great surprise it was almost immediately hit. After a successful pregnancy, Sammie was born on June 1, 2016.
“Sammie was a real connector and very social. In the supermarket and on the street she constantly waved to passers-by. She always wanted to be outside. Discovering new things.”
Doctor wasn’t worried
On Monday, February 12, 2018, Sammie woke up with a fever of 39.6 degrees. Meggy’s maternal instinct immediately told her it wasn’t right.
“The GP examined Sammie’s ear. Two weeks earlier she had had an infection in her other ear. He did not check Sammie further. He was not worried. We were allowed to go home.”
That same afternoon, Meggy noticed little red dots on Sammie’s legs. She no longer had a fever and drank and ate normally. “That’s why I thought it would be fine again. Still, I consulted with my mother about those points. Probably the fifth or sixth disease, we thought after some googling.”
Fever and severe thirst
The next morning Sammie had a high fever again. The red dots on her legs were still there and she was very thirsty.
“I called a friend’s doctor. She gave the tip to press the dots with a glass. If the dots went away, it was a virus. If not, it was blood poisoning and I had to go to the doctor immediately.”
“To my great horror, I couldn’t push the red dots away. Then Sammie started vomiting and my alarm bells went off. I had read online about the symptoms of meningitis and Sammie suddenly seemed to have them.”
With urgency, Meggy again rushed to the doctor. According to him, the red dots on her legs could still be pushed away somewhat.
“Mommy, drink”
“In addition, Sammie was still talking, so he was not worried again. This did not reassure me at all. Yes, Sammie spoke, but all she said was: ‘Mama, drink’.”
“She was incredibly thirsty and was very tired and weak. I no longer recognized my child and after considerable insistence I was referred to the hospital.”
Deaf, blind, even risk of death; it was all mentioned and we just thought: no, that won’t happen to us.
“Incidentally, not to the specialized children’s hospital that I wanted to go to, but to a regional hospital. The GP thought that was sufficient.”
One big chaos
Once we arrived at the hospital, things went quickly. “Suddenly Sammie started to roll her eyes and make primal noises. In panic I screamed for help and it was one big chaos. After an eternity doctors came running. They took over Sammie from me.”
Sammie turned out to have meningitis and sepsis (blood poisoning) caused by an infection with meningococcus B. An ambulance took her to the specialized children’s hospital as quickly as possible.
For the first few months I just lay on the couch. I couldn’t do anything and even breathing hurt.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t come along. Lennard was also there by now and in shock we drove to the other hospital ourselves. The doctors had made a brain scan of Sammie there. According to them, we had to wait and see what the consequences were. Deaf, blind, even a chance of death; it was all mentioned and we just thought: no, that won’t happen to us.”
In artificial coma
The next morning, a conversation ensued in the family room. “Sammie had a bacteria in her brain stem, which caused all her organs to fail. She was kept artificially in a coma, but was already 80 percent brain dead. According to the doctor, she died that day.”
Dazed, Meggy and Lennard called all their loved ones to say goodbye to Sammie. “It was totally unreal. We just couldn’t believe it. Our little girl, who was always so happy and energetic. Suddenly she was very sick, while I thought we had fully vaccinated her.”
Finding the strength to carry on
Between her parents, Sammie died that day in the hospital. Then followed disbelief, pain and mourning. “In one go she was gone, while everything at home was still hers. The first few months I just lay on the couch. I couldn’t do anything and even breathing hurt. Lennard arranged EMDR therapy (trauma therapy, ed. .) for both of us and that helped a bit.”
An interview with the GP also followed. “I don’t want to go into that, because we won’t get Sammie back with it anyway. It was mainly Lennard and I, with the support of our family and friends, who pulled each other through. Somewhere we found the strength to continue. “
Not in the vaccination program
To warn other parents about the dangers of meningococcal B, Meggy tells Sammie’s story. “I did not know, but the vaccination program only inoculates children against meningococci A, C, W and Y, and not against B. There is a vaccine available that you have to pay for yourself, but many parents do not know that. Did I know it, then I would certainly have vaccinated Sammie for it.”
Meggy and Lennard founded Het Laatste Huys on behalf of Sammie. With that company they help relatives to make their own coffin for a deceased loved one. “Sammie was such a positive and cheerful girl. She gave us a lot of love and we try to pass that on to others in our own way.”
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